Church in Vitoria-Gasteiz
Also known as Catedral de Maria Inmaculada; Catedral Nueva; New Cathedral
FreeCosts nothing to visit.
The largest religious building in the Basque Country and the second-largest church in Spain after Seville, the New Cathedral of Mary Immaculate (Catedral Nueva) is a 20th-century neo-Gothic giant in the lower town of Vitoria-Gasteiz. The best part for a budget trip: entry is free.
The scale does the work here. A Latin-cross plan with five naves, an ambulatory, and a crypt gives it the weight of a medieval cathedral even though it was finished in the 20th century, and the ambulatory holds the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art of Alava. Outside, an unusual run of neo-Gothic gargoyles rewards a slow look from the street for nothing at all.
Pair it with the Old Cathedral of Santa Maria at the top of the old town, the Gothic restoration site you tour in a hard hat, and you get both ends of the city’s story in one free walk. Add the arcaded Plaza de la Virgen Blanca and the open-air Painted City Murals route and a full day in Vitoria-Gasteiz can cost almost nothing.
Practical
Nearby
Other places worth the walk, and what each one costs.
Early 20th-century palace ringed by gardens in the south of Vitoria-Gasteiz, serving as the official residence of the Lehendakari, the president of the Basque Country. The interior is closed to the public, but the building and its grounds are free to view from outside, which is the whole appeal for a budget traveler passing through.
15th-century Gothic townhouse named for the carved Franciscan cord that frames its main doorway, and one of the oldest civil buildings in the old town of Vitoria-Gasteiz. Free to admire from the street, so it costs nothing to add to a walk through the medieval quarter.
National memorial museum in Vitoria-Gasteiz honouring the victims of terrorism in Spain, with a focus on dignity, memory, and reconciliation. Free to enter and housed in a restored early-twentieth-century former Bank of Spain building, it is one of the most serious and rewarding stops in the Basque capital.
14th-century Gothic church at the edge of the old town, housing the niche of the Virgen Blanca, patron of the city, and the launch point of Vitoria's biggest festival. Free to enter.
15th-century timber-framed merchant house on Zapatari kalea, now a traditional restaurant. The street-facing facade is free to admire and ranks among the best-preserved medieval commercial buildings in the Basque Country.
Renaissance palace with an Italianate courtyard, built in the 1530s and 1540s by Fernan Lopez de Escoriaza, a physician who served at the court of Henry VIII of England before returning to his home city. Free to view the facade and exterior; the courtyard opens occasionally during heritage events.
Working out what Vitoria-Gasteiz costs?
The whole of Vitoria-Gasteiz