13 Best Sights in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Bilbao and the Basque Country

Officially named the Centro-Museo Vasco de Arte Contemporáneo, this former bus station is regarded as the third corner of the Basque modern art triangle, along with the Bilbao Guggenheim and San Sebastián's Chillida–Leku. The museum's permanent collection—including 20th- and 21st-century paintings and sculptures by Jorge Oteiza, Eduardo Chillida, Agustín Ibarrola, and Nestor Basterretxea, among others—makes it one of Spain's finest treasuries of contemporary art.

Dating to the 14th century, this once-crumbling cathedral has been undergoing renovations for more than two decades—but it's open to visitors, which is its unique selling point. Guided tours begin in the bowels of the building, where the transition from Romanesque to Gothic styles is evident in the square pillars topped with cylindrical ones. The tour culminates in a visit to the bell tower followed by a hyperrealistic light show that gives visitors a sense of the cathedral's formerly colorful painted exterior through the ages. A prominent and active supporter of the project is British novelist Ken Follett, whose novel World Without End is about the construction of the cathedral. The renovation is slated to be completed once and for all within the next three years.  Call ahead to book an English-language group tour, or use the free audio guide on the standard tours, which depart every 30 minutes or so.

The 1525 Palacio de Bendaña and adjoining bronze-plated building are home to one of Vitoria's main attractions, the Bibat, which combines the Museo Fournier de Naipes (Playing-Card Museum) with the Museo de Arqueología. The palacio houses the 15,000 playing-card sets of Don Heraclio Fournier, who founded a famous playing-card factory in 1868. One of the largest and finest such collections in the world, it features hand-painted cards from Japan, round cards from India, and other ancient specimens dating to the 12th century. The Museo de la Arqueología, in the newest building, has Paleolithic dolmens, Roman art and artifacts, medieval objects, and the famous Stele del Jinete (Stele of the Horseback Rider), an early Basque tombstone.

Just south of the park, this weaponry museum has prehistoric hatchets, 20th-century pistols, and a sand-table reproduction of the 1813 battle between the Duke of Wellington's troops and the French.

Paintings by Ribera, Picasso, and the Basque painter Zuloaga adorn the walls of this exuberant baroque building, whose collection spans from the 18th to the 20th century.

One of Vitoria's oldest and most splendid buildings, this palace was erected in 1488 and reformed in 1535 and 1865. It's reached from the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca along Calle de Herrería, which follows the egg-shape outline along the west side of the old city walls. It is not open for tours.

This park, with bridges, gazebos, and man-made hills, offers a nice respite from the hustle and bustle of the city. At Christmastime, it morphs into one enormous nativity scene that kids go nuts over.

Across Virgen Blanca, past the monument and the handsome Victoria Café stands this arcaded neoclassical square with the austere elegance typical of 19th-century municipal architecture.

In the southwest corner of old Vitoria, this plaza—the nerve center of the Casco Viejo—is ringed by noble houses with covered arches and white-trim glass galleries. The monument in the center commemorates the Duke of Wellington's victory over Napoleon's army here in 1813.

A jasper niche in the lateral facade of this Gothic church contains the Virgen Blanca (White Virgin), Vitoria's patron saint.

In a city as noble and staid as Vitoria, you don't expect to find world-class street art, but that's precisely what's been drawing more and more tourists and artsy types to the parallel streets of Anorbin and Carnicerías in the old town. Feast your eyes on multistory, thought-provoking murals depicting family scenes, landscapes, and political issues. Of note is an enormous mural covering the entire side of a house opposite El Portalón restaurant.

This 15th-century tower houses Vitoria's Museo de Ciencias Naturales, which contains botanical, zoological, and geological collections along with the museum's most prized items: pieces of amber from the nearby archaeological site at Peñacerrada-Urizaharra.

This is the oldest house and defensive tower in Vitoria, constructed in the 15th century beside the cathedral. Though it's closed to the public, the courtyards and winding streets that surround it are worth exploring.