OPENING HOURS
Mon - Sun: 11am - 1pm and 5pm - 7pm.
*Guided tours depart every 30 minutes from the Visitor Reception Centre. Access from Burullería Square (in front of El Portalón). Arrive 10 minutes before the tour begins.

Guided tours to the restoration works of the Cathedral of Santa María in Vitoria-Gasteiz enable admiring in situ the architectural and archaeological works that are being implemented in the 13h-century Gothic temple. Also known as Old Cathedral, this church-fortress rises majestically in the city's Old Quarter. It was part of the defensive medieval wall and consists of a Latin cross ground plan, a wide crossing, an ambulatory with chapels, an enormous 60 metres high belfry, a sacristy and several annexed rooms. But it is mainly remarkable its triple Gothic porch, which manifests in detail many Biblical scenes.

Nowadays The Santa Maria Cathedral Foundation is the responsible for arranging and managing tour guides to the temple as well as restoration works. It is the foundation that supervises the works. Visitors will be able to carry out tours with strict safety measures, such as the helmet. They will have the chance to observe the archaeological and restoration works of a temple that is complex in its structure and rich as for past testimonies. Architects, archaeologists, scaffoldings and reinforcements make up an innovative cultural tourism project that has become one of the main attractions in Alava's capital. Therefore, the Basque Government awarded Premio Turismo (2000) prize to the quality of the project. It also received the Europa Nostra (2002), the maximum European award for the recovery and conservation of Cultural Heritage.

As a curiosity it should be noted that the well-known British writer, Ken Follet, was inspired by the Cathedral when it came to writing World Without End, which is the sequel to The Pillars of the Earth, his most popular work.

Guided tours: Tours by previous appointment. Call Visitor Reception Centre, send an e-mail or enter The Cathedral of Santa María Foundation website. Phone number for previous appointments is available from Monday to Sunday from 10am to 2pm and from 4pm to 8pm. One-hour tours in Spanish, Basque, French, English, German and Italian.

Tickets:
Ordinary ticket: 3 Euro per person.
Pensioners and unemployed: 1.5 Euro.
Children under 12 years: Free.
Groups of 15: 15 Euro.

Promotion tickets: It is 5 Euro the ticket to visit both the Cathedral and the Artium Museum, Basque Centre-Museum of Contemporary Art.