Will be in San sebestian for a week staying with friends and am looking for a short trip 2day/1 nite type of thing. Came across Vitoria gasteiz and thought that might be a good place to explore for a day...anybody been there and could share your thoughts. have already been to bilbao, pamplona, biaritze (excuse my horrible spelling) so wanted to try some place new...appreciate any info passed my way!

Vitoria is, by my recollection, one of the cleanest cities in Spain. It's gotten a little more congested in recent years, but is still nice.

We spent four days there a few years back, and found ample opportunity to satisfy our curiosity. There is a little "castillito" outside Vitoria called Mendotza, more of a bastion than anything else, with a nice little museum of military history included. There are two cathedrals in Vitoria...and after seeing them you'll know which is the new one and which is the old.

Make the stop and make sure when you're out for dinner that you find a restaurant that serves "goxua" for dessert.

It is one of my favorite cities in Spain, I spent only 2 days here and am very eager to return. It is a very green city with an abundance of tranquil places for an nice afternoon paseo. The cuisine is fantastic .The city in general seemes less touristy than San Sebastian so it may be nice change from the weekend tourist crowd you normally find on the cost.

I've also read that Vitoria is supposed to be a lovely city and would like to visit it. I just returned from a trip to Spain where I spent 2 nights in San Sebastian. I would highly recommend Hondarribia. It's only a 45 minute local bus from SS and is a lovely, small typical basque town. I fell in love with this place. The bus drops you off around the corner from the tourist office. Inside they have a very good map of the old town on top of the hill (very short walk). You walk up and come upon a beautifully preserved old town - I felt like I was in a time warp. I rambled around for a couple of hours just in awe. At the bottom of the hill just past the tourist office is a lovely street with wide sidwalks on both sides and shade trees. I'm sure it's a favorite for the evening paseo. This street is lined with little cafes and shops. I found a wonderful restaurant just off this street and had a great lunch for less than 10euros (menu del dia). The village is right on the sea and you can also take a short ferry over to visit other local villages in France (I'm not sure which cities as I didn't have my passport with me and will have to return for this). Just want to warn you that it was pretty quiet so if you're looking for alot of night time activity it might just make a great day trip for you. However, I could have stayed a couple of days here just wandering, eating, sitting at cafes and soaking it all in.

Let us know how your trip goes.

Fish,
Vitoria is a beautiful city and it will be well worth your time to go there. It's small, clean, and not touristy. I liked it so much, I spent five months there.
Not too far from the RENFE is el parque de la Florida. The Casco Viejo is a nice walk as well.
Enjoy.

Shalom, y'all