The municipality of Burgos is located in the northeastern section of Spain. Burgos is the capital of the Burgos area, within the autonomous area of Castille, and It holds about 180,000 people.

The town is beautifully situated and has a charm equal with other medieval towns in Europe. In summer, when I was visiting, the weather was wonderful.

Getting There.

The city is located in the northern Basque Country of Spain. As near as I can figure, there are three good ways to get there. The first, and probably the most utilized, would be cars. Get yourself a rental and be on down the highway.

The second would be public transport. The city is serviced by both trains and buses that criss-cross the region. Depending upon time of day and starting destination, you’ll probably need a reservation for your train ride. Spanish rail has multiple runs a day that pass through the city. (I came and left on the train.)

The bus station is located centrally, on the south side of the river. I don’t know much about the bus schedules, but after talking with several people who came in to town that way it appears that there are also multiple bus times as well. You can check with the region bus transit website for more info.

Your third option, also quite popular, is waking. Burgos is another one of those towns with a prominent spot on the Camino Francis pilgrimage route. As such, it sees a large percentage of travelers enter and exit on foot each year.

The Burgos International Airport opened in 2008. I confess I don’t know much about this option either, but information should be available on the city’s webpage.

Getting Around Town.

The city is really two different cities. Like most all ancient tourist places, there’s is a historic old city and a new urban city. Burgo’s new section wraps itself around the eastern and southern sides predominantly. The old city is very walkable, and quite congested. If you coming to/from the train station on the north east side, a taxi would probably be best.

There was no marked bus system that I noticed, but there was a lot of bus traffic, so there very well may be one. This is also a big enough population where Uber or Lyft would do quite well. As I don’t use either, I don’t have any information to pass on.

Things To Do And See.

Here things become a contrast between the old and the new. The old is very old, and the new is very new.

The Castillo de Burgos, on the north side of the river, is the medieval town fortress. Though today it’s a ruin, with ongoing archeological excavations still taking place, it’s well worth making the steep uphill climb to the top of the fortress mount overlooking the majority of the town. It offers great views, especially of the cathedral.

The Burgos Cathedral is also on the north side of the Arlanzon River. It cannot be understated that the Burgos Cathedral is the spiritual and tourist center of the medieval city section. Legitimately, it should be called a cathedral complex. The area contains the cathedral, something like 5 other major churches, a couple museums, and a monetary. There isn’t a spot where you can take a photo of the whole cathedral area, even from the towers of the Castillo.

Started in 1221, the cathedral took several hundred years to build. The interior of the cathedral is overwhelming in its grandeur. I had seen a lot of ornate churches before getting to Burgos. I was glad I took the time to visit the cathedral. It is quite extraordinary.

It is also utterly overrun with tourists. The heavy load of tourists puts a strain on the otherwise nice church people. Plan ahead and get there early. This will help with the crowds of people somewhat.

Where the old is very old, and World Heritage level, the new also has its draw. The Museum Of Human Evolution is a fully engaging and well curated modern museum. Along with all of the standard exhibits one would expect for a museum based on the growth of the human condition, it also covers several of the areas own archeological excavations.

Located on the south side of the Arlanzon River, it sits in a modern building built specifically for housing the museum. It gets lots of traffic, so expect lots of other people.

Thoughts.

with world-class attractions, good hotels, good restaurants, and a very cool vibe, Burgos is worth your time. It gets a lot of tourists, so you need to be prepared for that. Especially, if you’re coming off the tranquility of the Camino.

I’m glad I stopped. You will be too. Now … get out there. Go find cool new places and stuff!