Until recently, only one small provincial town, Vitoria-Gasteiz (Vitoria in Spanish, Gasteiz in Basque, officially both) is now the capital of the Basque Country (País Vasco) and is doing its best to keep up. See these photos of Vitoria-Gasteiz for the highlights of the old town.
There are limited flights to Vitoria. Bilbao or Zaragoza are more likely options.
Best time to visit Vitoria-Gasteiz
The Vitoria Jazz Festival in the second week of June is a good time to be in Vitoria-Gasteiz. Read more about the July festivals in Spain. The city has its most traditional festival in early August. Read more about August festivals in Spain
Number of days to spend in Vitoria-Gasteiz (excluding day trips)
You could see the city in one day, although you would need a second day to visit its museums and art galleries.
Hotels in Vitoria-Gasteiz
For hotels in Vitoria, check these links:
- Hotels in Vitoria with Venere
Keep in mind that there is more than one Vitoria in the world: with Travelocity, be sure to search for hotels in Vitoria in Spain.
What to do in Vitoria-Gasteiz
- Go for pintxos The Basque Country calls tapas ‘pintxos’ and you’ll get some good ones at c / Datos and c / Cuchilleria. Bilbao and San Sebastián may be better, but here it is cheaper.
- See the TWO cathedrals of Vitoria That’s right, they have two cathedrals: María Inmaculada and Santa María.
- The Atrium art galleries and the Museo de Bellas Artes are located at (c / Francia) and (c / Fray Frisco) respectively.
- Take a look at the city’s museums : the playing card museum (c / Cuchillería), the archeology museum (c / Correría) and the natural science museum (Siervas de Jesús).
- Arrives in Spain! Ryanair flies very cheap to Vitoria airport
Day trips from Vitoria-Gasteiz
Logroño, the capital of La Rioja, is not far away and you could do Bilbao in a day if all you really want to see is the Guggenheim (although Bilbao guarantees you more time). Vitoria is poorly served by trains (there are none direct to Bilbao and only one a day to Logroño), so you will have to take the bus.
Where to continue?
Bilbao to the north is the obvious choice, but if you’ve already been there, there’s Logroño to the southeast, Pamplona to the east, and Burgos to the west.
Distance to Vitoria
From Madrid 353km – 3h30 by car, 4h30 by bus, 4h30-7h30 by train, 1h flight (with Iberia). Read more about Madrid
From Barcelona 569km – 6h by car, 7h30 by bus, 7h by train, 1h20 by flight (with Iberia). Read more in Barcelona
From Seville 820 km – 8h45 by car, without bus, train or plane. Read more about Seville
First impressions of Vitoria-Gasteiz
You will likely arrive in Vitoria-Gasteiz by bus and enter the new part of the city. Vitoria has undergone a great expansion since it became the capital of the Basque Country and, fortunately, it has been designed by someone who appreciates open spaces. Most of the most beautiful parts of Vitoria are in the new city and this is where you will find most of the “life” of the city, although they are more attractive to those who live here than to visitors; As a tourist, you will want to see the beautiful parts of the old town.
From the bus station, cross the road and take c / Esperanza to reach the atrium. Ignore the terrible pun (it’s an atrium that has art , geddit?) And the even worse sculpture outside – the collection inside is worth seeing. Then continue west and walk into the old town, a collection of narrow streets that feel more like an outer suburb than a city center, until you reach ac / Cuchillería.
From here you can turn right and go to the Museo Fournier de Los Naipes (the card museum) and then to the Museum of Archeology or left and go down to Plaza de España and Plaza de la Virgen Blanca.
The Plaza de España, while not the most exciting of the plazas in Spain, has a good collection of shops around it and it means that you have re-entered the new part of the city. At the lower edge of the square is c / Dato, the commercial district of Vitoria-Gasteiz and the heart of modern Vitoria.
