Planning a trip to Vitoria

Getting There -- The Aeropuerto Vitoria-Foronda (tel. 90-240-47-04) is 8km (5 miles) northwest of the town center and has direct air links to Madrid on Iberia Airlines (tel. 90-240-05-00; www.iberia.com).

From San Sebastián, eight RENFE trains (tel. 90-224-02-02; www.renfe.es) daily make the 1 3/4-hour trip to Vitoria.

Roughly eight buses daily make the 1 1/2-hour trip from San Sebastián. Bus connections are also possible through Bilbao. Eight to 12 buses daily make the 1-hour trip. Call tel. 94-525-84-00 for more information and schedules.

Take the E-5 north from Madrid to Burgos, cutting northwest until you see the turnoff for Vitoria. (Note that along its more northerly stretches, this superhighway is identified as both E-5 and A-1.)

Visitor Information -- The tourist office, at Plaza General Loma 1 (tel. 94-516-15-98; www.vitoria-gasteiz.org/turismo), is open Monday to Saturday 10am to 7pm and Sunday 11am to 2pm.

Special Events -- One of the major jazz festivals in the north of Spain takes place here annually in mid-July. It's the weeklong Festival de Jazz de Vitoria-Gasteiz (tel. 94-514-19-19; www.jazzvitoria.com). For the big-name performers, tickets range from 15€ to 40€, but spontaneous entertainment takes place on the street for free, although donations are appreciated.