Spain – Burgos (En)

Burgos, a provincial capital in Spain’s autonomous community of Castile and León, is marked by its intact medieval architecture. Its most recognizable landmark is the French Gothic Cathedral of St. Mary, whose 3 main doorways are flanked by ornamented bell towers. Inside is the Chapel of Condestable, decorated with figures of saints, and the tomb of El Cid (Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar), the 11th-century military commander. It is a city of passage for all pilgrims who travel the French Camino de Santiago and offers delicious cuisine dominated by hearty dishes such as the famous blood sausage from Burgos.

Where to stay

We stayed at Camping Municipal Fuentes Blancas (42.341099, -3.65774 lat, long) located on the outskirts of the centre and surrounded by parks. About 40 minutes walk to the cathedral next to the river, a very nice walk and all flat. The campsite costs 23 euros with the Acsi card, it has large shaded pitches, old but clean facilities, with paper in the bathroom and showers with pressure and hot water. Easy to fill and discharge water. It has a swimming pool but it closes on September 15. It also has an excellent restaurant, with tapas for 2 euros that I recommend trying and a daily menu for 13 euros. On weekends the restaurant fills up. We found a caravan just like ours!

What to see

We went to the centre walking with Asha, you walk along the bank of the Arlanzón River, with the shade of the trees and you pass several bridges that cross the city. The first thing we found was the Marcelino Santa María Municipal Museum, which is an old monastery, you arrive at the Church of San Lesmes and we cross to the old town, which is all pedestrian, through the San Juan Arch.

We entered and toured the old town, along with the Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site full of monuments and historical buildings. We visited the Mayor Square, a square that makes you fall in love with its medieval-style porticoed buildings with brightly coloured facades and a 17th-century Town Hall. Near this area is the Baroque-style Church of San Lorenzo el Real, which has large columns and pilasters of the Corinthian order on its façade, while inside there is a fantastic Main Altarpiece.

We decided to have lunch before going to see the Cathedral, we ate the menu of the day in a restaurant full of locals. The menu included a drink, bread, starter, main course and dessert. I ordered a typical dish first, which was white beans with clams, and Ben scrambled with blood sausage from Burgos. For the main course, I had roast ribs which were delicious, and Ben ordered the ham hock to try it. For dessert, Ben ordered apple pie and I had a coffee with milk, all for 17 euros each.

We went to see the Cathedral located in Rey San Fernando Square, which has a sculpture of a pilgrim, where you can see one of the four impressive facades of the Cathedral of Burgos, declared a World Heritage Site and the third largest cathedral in Spain. On the main façade is the Door of Forgiveness with a gallery of statues of the kings of Castile, its intricate designs, its stained glass windows and its high 15th-century spire towers. The Cathedral is in the French Gothic style, and construction began in 1221. We were only able to look inside because we had Asha with us and it takes a long time to see it inside.

In the square is the fantastic Renaissance Arch of Santa María, which is one of the old twelve access gates to the city in the Middle Ages and was built in the 14th-15th century, although in the following century it was completely remodeled using the typical white limestone from Burgos.

Crossing the arch you reach to the Espolón Avenue on the banks of the Arlanzón River, which we walked along. It is a garden promenade, known as “the city hall”, and extends from the Santa María Bridge to the San Pablo Bridge. On the promenade, there are the statues of the four kings and the music temple, as well as important buildings such as the Consulate of the Sea, the Círculo de la Unión and the Main Theater.

We finished our visit to Burgos the next day by having tapas for lunch at the campsite restaurant, 2 euros each, so we ate for 10 euros! We shared chorizo ​​tapas, Ben the famous blood sausage from Burgos, Tigers (mussels stuffed with cheese), and rashers (the best we have ever tried).

Next, we went to Palencia, the capital of the province of its name, in the community of Castile and Leon, dating from the 11th century, which you can see in the next post!