Vitoria-Gasteiz is the capital city of the Basque Country and, since the year 2012, the European Green Capital. Lately, this basque gem is experiencing a quite interesting touristical awake as more people notice its diverse options. For example, the town is perfect to wander through its medieval streets, enjoy its large green areas or discover its great gastronomy. Throughout this post, we propose five plans to get to know the city in a unique way.

The medieval almond

One of the best ways to get to know a new town is to visit its oldest part or casco viejo, also known as the medieval almond.

In addition to the Old Cathedral of Santa María and its award-winning “Open for works” project, visitors can enjoy different medieval tower-houses, colorful guild streets, Renaissance palaces and beautiful murals made by the IMVG association The Painted City (Itinerary Mural of Vitoria-Gasteiz), for example.

If you want to learn more about the history, gastronomy and tradition of Vitoria-Gasteiz, we recommend our guided tour every Friday and Saturday The soul of Vitoria-Gasteiz, the only tour of the city that includes the tower of Saint Vincent and two delicious pintxos.

Lantern Museum

The Lantern Museum has a quite atypical 273 piece collection entirely made with coloured glass. According to the tradition, every August the 4th the pieces wander the streets in the Rosary of Lanterns Procession for the Festivities of the White Virgin.

As a beloved religious tradition, the population of Vitoria-Gasteiz decided to start a museographic project to exhibit those glass pieces and the carving of the White Virgin, patron saint of the city. In the year 2000, after restoring all the elements of the procession and the building where they were going to be exhibited, the doors of this museum were opened, which can also be visited virtually.

Basilica of Saint Prudencio

The Basilica of Saint Prudencio and Saint Andrew of Armentia is one of the most important Romanesque temples in the Basque Country. Despite the major renovation it had during the 18th century, it still preserves original elements from the 12th century.

The relevance of the place has a lot to do with Saint Prudencio, patron saint of Alava, who was born in the small town of Armentia. Every April the 28th, the surrounding fields are filled with people and craft and food stalls to celebrate the saint.

Even though visitors can go by car or by bus, we recommend going walking or using a bicycle along La Senda Avenue. Appart from the pleasant walk of just 3 kilometers to the Basilica, there is the possibility to enjoy the Arts Museum of Alava and the Armoury Museumof Alava, both free.

Bibat Museum

It is an interesting museum complex inaugurated in 2009 and located on Cuchilleria Street in Vitoria-Gasteiz. It houses two free museums: the Fournier Card Museum and the Archeology Museum of Alava. Its name comes from the Basque bi, two, and bat, one, because there are two museums with very different collections in the same place.

The Fournier Card Museum of Alava is in the old Renaissance palace of Bendaña and is one of the few museum spaces in the world entirely dedicated to the playing-card production. Much of the collection of this museum comes from the private collection of Felix Alfaro Fournier. In 1984, the 3.000 deck of cards collection was acquired by Alava’s Provincial Council and nowadays the Museum has more than 20.000.

Besides, the Archeology Museum of Alava is in the new building and exhibits diverse archaeological materials that go from Prehistory to the Middle Ages. It is as a museum “under construction”, since it is in continuous growth thanks to the archaeological works and casual discoveries by citizens. In the permanent exhibition there are some remains from fundamental archeological sites such as Alto de la Huesera dolmen, the Protohistoric town of La Hoya, the Roman and Medieval site Iruña Veleia or the church of Tobillas.

Salburua wetland

Consisting on 206 hectares of lagoons, forests and meadows, Salburua wetland is part of the Green Belt of Vitoria-Gasteiz. On Sundays and sunny days it is very common to see many people enjoying the park and its numerous itineraries along with their pets.

The Salburua park has been being recovered since the 90s, because it was on the verge of disappearing at the beginning of the 20th century, when authorities decided to drain the land for agricultural uses.

Since 2002, Salburua has been identified as a Ramsar site, or in other words, it is a wetland of international importance for being the habitat for numerous endangered species and being a transit point for different migratory birds.

On the other hand, the park has an Interpretation Center called Ataria, where activities and exhibitions are organized that seek environmental awareness and education for all types of audiences. Its very complete agenda is available on the Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council website.

Besides, Salburua wetland is a great way to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and reconnect with nature without leaving the city. A perfect plan to go with your couple, with your friends and with the family.

As we have seen in this post, Vitoria-Gasteiz is not just another city. Indeed, it is a city that perfectly combines history, gastronomy, art, traditions and nature. We invite you to make these and many other plans in Vitoria-Gasteiz, it will not disappoint you!