Burgos is a city in the northern part of the country, and one which is not necessarily at the top of anyone’s list if you ask them to name prominent and well-known Spanish cities. Lying almost directly to the north of Madrid, it is one of the historical capitals of Castile and is now the capital of the province of Burgos in the community of Castile & León, with a population of slightly under 200,000. Steeped in history, Burgos has been the focus of many wars, is the birthplace and final resting place of the 11th century hero ‘El Cid’, and more recently was the base of General Franco’s nationalist government in the Spanish Civil War.
Although the winters in Burgos are cold due to the altitude (856m) and distance from the coast, summers are pleasant and warm, with daytime temperatures in the mid 20’s celcius. Served by an airport, a railway station with links to Paris, and a bus station, Burgos also has good motorway links with Madrid to the south and with Bilbao and San Sebastian to the north-east.
Burgos is mainly known for its quantity and quality of its gothic churches, but by far the most famous and dominant of these is the world renowned cathedral of Our Lady of Burgos. Built between the 13th and 15th centuries and now designated a World Heritage Site, this magnificent cathedral dominates the city and skyline of Burgos and also houses the tomb of the heroic ‘El Cid’. In contrast to its gothic past, however, Burgos is now a leader amongst European cities in the field of sustainable mobility and transportation, winning various awards – amongst them the Energy Globe Award in 2008 (the Nobel sustainability awards) – and boasts a free bicycle loan system, 100% clean public transport and is striving towards a car-free city centre.
Burgos is a good stopping off point on a touring holiday for those arriving in the country at the northern ferry ports of Bilbao and Santander and travelling on to Madrid, lying as it does within striking distance of all these cities, but there are attractions in the surrounding area of the city as well, particularly at Atapuerta some 15kms to the east. Here is to be found a particularly important archaeological site containing prehistoric tools and bones relating to the earliest known humans in Europe, dating back some 1.2m years. The site is of such importance that it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000, and is still under major investigation.