Other reasons to visit us
What else to do and see in Vitoria-Gasteiz
Discover a city with more than eight centuries of history, with 42 square meters of green areas per inhabitant and a great food and wine tradition.
We present seven places and proposals to enjoy Vitoria-Gasteiz.
The Plaza de la Virgen Blanca
Whether you are visiting us for the first time or you want to rediscover the city, you can't miss this central square and all it has to offer: the Monument to the Battle of Vitoria -the most international episode in our history-, the Church of San Miguel, the shops and restaurants... And a plant sculpture for your selfie!
Guided tours of Santa Maria Cathedral
Visits to its restoration works allow you to visit every corner of this temple from its foundations to the tower, which offers the best panoramic view of the entire city. It was declared a World Heritage Site in the context of the Camino de Santiago interior of the north and a place of pilgrimage, which inspired the novel "A World Without End" by Ken Follett.
Medieval Quarter and its Medieval Wall
The city has one of the best preserved medieval centers in Spain. It maintains the configuration of its almond-shaped streets and walking through them allows you to admire the wall, the main Gothic temples, visit unique museums such as the Bibat of Archaeology and Playing Cards, or take the route of the murals .
Sustainable city
The city is surrounded by a Green Belt made up of large parks, including the Salburua wetlands and its Ataria interpretation center. In the Inner Green Belt of Avenida Gasteiz, for its part, is located the Europa Conference Center with its vertical garden. And special mention should be made of Florida Park, created in 1820 and which remains an icon of a city that has been named European Green Capital and Global Green City.
Enogastronomy with its own flavor
Pintxos, traditional dishes and sophisticated proposals make the local gastronomy one of the fundamental reasons for your visit to the city. Not forgetting the wines of Rioja Alavesa and the txakoli of Alava, our pastry tradition and the Mercado de Abastos, a reference that brings together local products, workshops and gastrobars in the heart of the city.
Artium Contemporary Art Museum
Artium's collection is made up of 3,000 works of art by a long list of artists such as Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró and Eduardo Chillida. It also includes works by current artists such as Cristina Iglesias, Elena del Rivero or Miquel Barceló. The museum-center offers guided tours focused on temporary exhibitions and other "a la carte" options.
Route of the museums
The route of the museums in Vitoria is another of those great options, taking into account that during the fall many of them offer specific activities for children and families.
You will be able to choose among the 7 museums of the city:
- Museum of Natural Sciences.
- Museum of Fine Arts of Alava.
- Museum of Armory of Alava.
- Artium Museum.
- Museum of Sacred Art.
- Museum of the Lanterns.
- Museum of Archaeology.
- Fournier Playing Cards Museum.
Literary route:
Corners that inspire stories, novels that take us on a tour of the city and personalities from the world of literature with a strong link to the capital of the Basque Country. We propose you to discover Vitoria-Gasteiz in literary key. Thus, The Trilogy of the White City, by Eva García Sáenz de Urturi, travels through the most emblematic corners of Vitoria-Gasteiz, and does so through plots full of mystery that have occupied the highest positions in the bestseller lists. El silencio de la Ciudad Blanca' has a guided tour and was made into a film by Daniel Calparsoso, with Javier Rey and Belén Rueda heading the cast.
The Cathedral of Santa María, which inspired Ken Follett; places mentioned by Pío Baroja and Benito Pérez Galdós; spaces to remember local authors such as Ignacio Aldecoa or Ernestina de Champourcín, corners and historical episodes described by Toti Martínez de Lezea, Álvaro Arbina, or the guided tours by Marta Extramiana, about her novels 'El caso de los amores proscritos' and 'El caso de la patulea y un viaje a París'. Discover the relationship of our streets, squares and buildings with the world of literature, with guided tours organized by local companies or exploring on your own.
Napoleonic route:
We invite you to relive history and discover the scenes and characters of Napoleonic Vitoria. A small city of barely 7000 inhabitants led by an enlightened elite that promoted the leap from the old medieval city to the neoclassical one. The War of Independence would interrupt this physical and cultural expansion and would make it known throughout Europe for the momentous battle that was fought in its surroundings.
In March 2015 the Council of Europe declared the various Napoleonic routes as European Cultural Itinerary, a prestigious denomination that distinguishes those historical routes that help to identify the idea of Europe (the Way of St. James, The Flaming Path, the Route of Charles V...).
Sport in the ?green? capital
The city is made for sports thanks to its green areas and its complete network of facilities: paddle tennis courts, tennis courts, golf courses, ice rink... It is worth attending the basketball or soccer games of the local teams and experiencing the most authentic of our culture in the exhibitions of Basque rural sports during the patron saint's festivities.