Vitoria

Introduction

Vitoria-Gasteiz

© Sajeh

Vitoria is the capital of the province of Álava and the Basque Country in northern Spain. With a population of around 235,000 people, it is the second largest Basque city, after Bilbao.

Sights and Activities

The city has an ancient town center where most of the streets still have the medieval name of the jobs that was used to be in each one of the streets (Herrería, Zapatería etc). In the Town Center you can find the Cathedral of Santa María, that is one of the most important attractions of Vitoria-Gasteiz. Guided visits can be made, and it's recommended to make the reservation via Cathedral Santa María web page.

Weather

Getting There

By Plane

Vitoria-Gasteiz has a small Airport (Aeropuerto de Foronda; VIT) 8 kilometres north of the town with a few flight destinations.

There is a shuttle bus (company bidasoa) to the airport from the centre (catedral) and outside the bus station and back suitable for the Ryanair flights to Bergamo. You can ask at the tourist info for exact schedule and location.

Bilbao Airport offers more connections and is 70 kilometres away. You can visit Vitoria-Gasteiz coming from Bilbao Airport (Loiu) on a toll road or using public transport (Autobuses La Unión).

By Bus

The coach station is located north-west of the center at Euskaltzaindia Plaza with connections to all major Spanish cities including Bilbao, Burgos, Santander, Zaragoza, Pamplona and Madrid.

There is a left-luggage facility at the Coach Station (to the east of the city centre). Cost is roughly €1 per bag per day, and you can leave luggage for several days.

Getting Around

By Public Transport

Buses might be of use for people staying further away from the town centre.

By Foot

Vitoria-Gasteiz itself is a very small city. Virtually everything you will want to see is reachable on foot.

By Bike

There are several options for free bicycle usage throughout the city.

Eat

Traditionally you can have a few small drinks in the bars around the town center and enjoy this with some tapas. Usually every bar has one speciality and it is interesting to taste them and then you go to another bar. The boiling point for bar visits is at 2:00pm just before lunch time. The Basque cuisine is one of the best in Spain and Vitoria has restaurants in all categories.

Drink

Like in other cities of the Basque Country nigthlife is centered around the old medieval zone of the city or 'Casco Viejo' where there a bar every few meters. Same style bars usually (but now always) tend to be around the same area.

Sleep

Upscale

Keep Connected

Internet

Internet is widely available within Spain. Most airports have wifi-zones and in most towns there are internet cafés or shops where you can use internet for a fixed price. Wi-Fi points in bars and cafeterias are available after ordering, and most hotels offer Wi-Fi connection in common areas for their guests.

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

The international access code for Spain is +34. The emergency number for police, ambulance and the fire brigade is 112.

In cities you can find plenty of public phones, and 'locutorios'. The latter are small shops where you can use the phone and use internet. Most of them also sell prepaid cards for mobile telephones. These shops are used a lot by foreigners to call to their mother country.

The main mobile network operators in Spain are Yoigo, Vodafone, Movistar and Orange, as in most of Europe voice and data coverage is generally good in urban areas however it can be patchy in rural locations. Cheap mobile phones (less than €50) with some pre-paid minutes are sold at FNAC or any phone operator's shop (Vodafone, Movistar, Orange). Topping-up is then done by buying scratch cards from the small stores, supermarkets, vending points (often found in tobacco shops) or kiosks.

Post

If you want to post a card, you can head to the post office (Correos). The Spanish post is not yet as efficient as colleagues in other countries so receiving a card can take a bit longer than the number of days that it should take. On the website of Correos, you can find the locations of nearby post offices.
Post offices are generally open from 8:30am to 2:00pm, although times will vary according to the size of the city/town and the main post offices might be open until the early evening. Most will also open again on Saturday mornings, but in the smaller towns will close as early as 12 noon. When posting a letter, look for a yellow box and, if possible, post at the post office itself where there will also be divisions for local, national and international mail. Be prepared for long queues at the post office. This is why tobacco shops sell stamps and many will also have the facility to weigh packages. Standard letters/postcards of up to 20 grams sent within Spain are €0.34. However, non-standard letters/postcards of up to 20g are €0.39. Letters/postcards of 20 to 50 grams are €0.45. In the case of international shipping, the price is €0.64 to most countries within Europe for standard envelopes (letters/postcards) up to 20g, for a few European countries and outside Europe it is €0.78. If you want to send a package you are probably better off with a private courier company like TNT, DHL or UPS, as they offer quick and reliable services against competitive prices.

External Links

• Official Website