Square in Vitoria-Gasteiz
Also known as Andre Maria Zuriaren plaza
FreeCosts nothing to visit.
The main square of Vitoria-Gasteiz and the open-air heart of the city, centred on the Monumento a la Batalla de Vitoria and overlooked by the Church of San Miguel. Free to enjoy, and the natural starting point for walking the old town: the arcaded Los Arquillos walkway and the climb to the Old Cathedral of Santa Maria both branch off from here.
The square takes its name from the Virgen Blanca, the White Virgin and patron of the city, whose niche looks down from the San Miguel tower. That same tower is where the Fiestas de la Blanca open in early August, when a figure of Celedon descends by rope to the crowd below. For budget travelers, the appeal is simple: the city’s most local week happens in a free public space, and the square is just as good for a quiet, no-cost break the rest of the year.
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