Motorhome Hire in Vitoria, Spain

Vitoria in the Basque Country is 41km south of Bilbao and up until the 1980's was a sleepy, quiet hamlet. It was in the early 1980's that it was chosen as the headquarters for the Basque region's government. The airport of Vitoria-Foronda lies just 5km from the centre.

Vitoria was founded on the site of a small hamlet called Gasteiz, perched on the top of a hill. Sancho el Sabio, king of Navarra and founder of the city chose Gasteiz as a stronghold against Castille and granted the town its charter in 1181. Vitoria continued to grow, protected behind the city walls. It had three streets which crossed the hill from north to south, around which the town was laid out in the shape of an almond. The structure of the medieval town still remains. In the middle ages Vitoria was renowned for its craftsmen and merchants whose guilds gave rise to the names of streets. At the end of the 18th century the city began to expand outside its walls. During this period the Plaza de Espana was constructed, marking the expansion to the south.