Vitoria-Gasteiz, with about 260,000 inhabitants, is the capital of the province of Álava and seat of the government and parliament of the Basque Country. Less known than Bilbao and San Sebastián, it is a calm, orderly and very green city, named European Green Capital in 2012.
History
Founded in 1181 by King Sancho VI of Navarre on the Basque village of Gasteiz, it passed to Castile in 1200. The medieval centre, on the hill, has a distinctive almond shape, with concentric streets named after old guilds such as Cuchillería and Herrería. In 1813 the Battle of Vitoria was fought here, when Wellington defeated Joseph Bonaparte's troops, commemorated by the monument on Plaza de la Virgen Blanca.
What to see
- The Gothic Cathedral of Santa María, the subject of a long restoration made famous by the "Open for restoration" programme, which lets visitors explore building sites, foundations and tower. Ken Follett drew on it for his novel World Without End.
- Plaza de la Virgen Blanca, with glazed-balcony houses and the church of San Miguel, home to the patron's statue.
- The arcaded neoclassical Plaza de España.
- The medieval centre, with Renaissance palaces such as the Palacio de Escoriaza-Esquível and the Casa del Cordón, and escalators linking it to the lower town.
- The neo-Gothic New Cathedral of Mary Immaculate, with the diocesan museum of sacred art.
- Artium, the Basque contemporary art museum, and the Fournier Playing Card Museum, recalling the famous card factory founded here in 1868.
- The Anillo Verde, the ring of parks and paths around the city, with the Salburua wetland.
Festivals and food
The Virgen Blanca festivities, from 4 to 9 August, open with the descent of Celedón, a figure who glides with an umbrella from the tower of San Miguel down to the square. In July the Vitoria-Gasteiz Jazz Festival, one of Europe's oldest, takes place. Vitoria has been Spain's gastronomy capital: its bars serve top-quality pintxos, and you should try patatas a la riojana, goxua, a custard and cream dessert, and vasquitos y nesquitas, local chocolates.
Getting there
Vitoria has an airport, Foronda, about 8 km away, and trains to Madrid, Bilbao and Barcelona, plus buses to Bilbao in about an hour. See also Laguardia.