"I Just Paid 5 Bucks to See A Chicken In A Church!"…read more So said Gayle and as we wandered around the Cathedral of Santo Domingo de la Calzada. You can't miss it. It's in the Center of Town (on the Calle Mayor) and right on the Camino De Santiago. And since historical buildings don't take care of themselves, there's a 3.5 Euro admission fee. I also paid an extra Euro to climb the nearby Tower for a neat view of the Camino and the surrounding medieval quarter. The Cathedral of Santo Domingo de la Calzada is dedicated to Saint Dominic de la Calzada. He built roads and bridges for Pilgrims and founded the Hospital that is now the Town's Central Parador. The Cathedral is a Romanesque-Gothic pile containing the Saint's tomb (accessible below), choir murals, and a cool walnut alter piece. The live hen and rooster in a stone chicken coop commemorate a legendary local miracle in which a pair of roasted fowl come back to life to protest (crow) the innocence of a Pilgrim hanged for theft. In the Cathedral itself were the Chickens, a young Priest enthusiastically explaining aspects of his Church (and in Spanish I understood), and a cool "Museum" area that was heavy on Nativity Scenes. There is also a nice gift shop, where I should have picked up a chicken tchotchke, and ended up with a Camino de Santiago Pilgrim Shell. At that point, Gayle half expected that I was going to leave and continue down the Camino de Santiago.

Amazing cathedral!!! Love the Gothic look…read more It is huge! A lot of nice structure inside the building.. walls, ceilings, windows, etc.

This cathedral is quite a spectacle, and, if you are anywhere nearby, it is well worth stopping for…read morea tour. Be warned, though, that you may end up leaving with the thought nagging at the back of your mind, How many people starved while they filled this church up with gold? Because this place is FILLED UP. Every corner of every chapel and transept is covered in elaborate artwork, particularly the Baroque chapel...(shudder). Any thought of allowing the soaring architecture to alone inspire worshipers was at some point forgotten in an orgy of chapel renovations and additions by bishops and wealthy citizens who apparently wanted to buy their way in to heaven. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE visiting cathedrals, but something about the garishness of this one left me uneasy. As a tourist site, though, it is extremely clean, organized, and well-maintained...like I said, well worth the stop and the money to take the tour.

The Santa María Cathedral of Vitoria-Gasteiz is located at the top of the hill on which the…read moreoriginal Vitoria Gasteiz was built and occupies the area bounded by its first walled enclosure. The church, which dates from the thirteenth century, is based on a Latin cross floor plan and it has four rectangular chapels. The octagonal tower, with its bell tower that dates from the 16th-17th centuries, enables any paying visitor to enjoy a unique panorama of the city. The reconstruction of this old church is now being partly funded by all the visitors that pay an entrance fee to see the church and/or get a guided tour of this large landmark.

The Cathedral of Santa Maria is well known and has a lot of history to it. This Cathedral was the…read moremuse for one of Ken Follet's books which was interesting. Note that you can only enter the cathedral if you have signed up in advance for a tour. The tour was great but it was in Spanish. ;-)

This is the oldest known temple in Vitoria, with origins dating back to the 12th century…read more The main altarpiece was declared a monument in 1999. The Chapel of the Virgen Blanca. Patron Saint of Vitoria is really nice. There are several balconies overlooking the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca and a niche and sculpture of Celedón. The city's festivals usually happen right in front of this church, right on the square. The inside of the church has beautiful artwork and altars. It was a really nice bright temple.

I LOVED this church. I was taking some pictures outside when one of the volunteers told me that…read morethey were going to close shortly and to come in if I wanted to. I am so glad he did. The inside is awe-inspiring, so beautiful! I spent some time meditating and walking around taking in the splendor and beauty of this church.

Between visiting the vineyards we stopped in this beautiful village. The main attraction being of…read morecourse the old castle and church on the hilltop. It's not a long walk from the Plaza Mayor (main square) where you can find plenty of free parking lots scattered throughout the village, but pretty steep at times, so it's a bit difficult with strollers and near impossible if you have a wheelchair (you could park close to the top though - but very limited spaces). The views from the top are amazing. Overlooking La Rioja....it's quite the sight. There are several buildings and ruins you can visit up here. And most amazingly it's free. The Clock Tower really stands out as well as the Torre Mayor. In the center there's the impressive church of Santa María la Mayor. You can walk around the church, so you will see most sights up here this way. You also can climb up to the watchtower. The valley views are amazing. But equally amazing is the architecture. Some still fully intact...some turned into ruins over the centuries. We were surprised that - on this wonderful sunny day - not many visitors were here. Besides us only another couple was on the site. Of course great for us, so we enjoyed this place almost for ourselves, but also a pity, that so many folks seem to miss out on this Castillo. It's a wonderful thing to visit besides all the vineyards. Highly recommended!