Spain Guide
Euskal Herria: the País Vasco & Navarra
Vitoria-Gasteiz
VITORIA-GASTEIZ, the capital of Araba (Alava) and the entire País Vasco autonomous region, crowns a slight rise in the heart of a fertile plain. Founded as Vitoria in 1181 by Sancho el Sabio, King of Navarre, on the site of the far older Basque village of Gasteiz, it was already a prosperous place by the time of its capture by the Castilian Alfonso VIII in 1200. Later, as the centre of a flourishing wool and iron trade, Vitoria became seriously rich, and the town still boasts an unusual concentration of Renaissance palaces and fine churches.
Vitoria-Gasteiz is a fascinating old city, all the better for lying off the tourist circuit. Its old core is full of rowdy bars and tabernas, not to mention an abundance of excellent Basque restaurants, making it a pleasant place to escape the crowds for a few days.
The streets of the Romanesque Casco Medieval spread like a spider's web down the sides of the hill, surrounded on level ground by a neater grid of later development. You'll get the feel of the city simply by wandering through this old quarter. Although parts can be rather shabby, with very visible Batasuna and Basque independence support sprayed onto walls and posters, it is on the whole a harmonious place. All its graceful mansions and churches are built from the same greyish-gold stone, and many of the medieval buildings are amazingly well preserved. Among the finest is the Palacio de Escoriaza-Esquibel on c/Fray Zacarías, with its sixteenth-century Plateresque portal.
On the southern edge of the old town, the porticoed Plaza de España, a popular location for early-evening strolling and drinking, is a gem, while the neighbouring Plaza de la Virgen Blanca is more elegant, with glassed-in balconies. If you find the hill itself a bit of a challenge, Vitoria offers a remarkable feature: moving stairways climb it from both the east (Cantón de San Francisco Javier) and west (Cantón de la Soledad) sides.
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