Cathedral of Santa María de Burgos

Burgos Cathedral was begun in 1221 and has been a World Heritage Site since 1984. It is the visit that justifies the trip: a good two hours if you stop at every chapel, and a ticket that includes the Cathedral Museum and both cloisters. You enter by the Sarmental door, on the Plaza de Santa María, and tour it with a free multimedia guide on your phone.

What to see inside

Under the crossing, the openwork lantern tower lets light fall on the tomb of El Cid and Doña Jimena. Behind the high altar, the Chapel of the Constables, which Simón de Colonia began in 1482, is a church within the church, with its star vault. In the north arm, Diego de Siloé's Golden Staircase descends from the Coronería door. High in the nave, the Papamoscas opens his mouth every time the clock strikes the hour. Besides the high altarpiece, the choir and the retro-choir, it is worth stopping at the main sacristy, the chapel of Santa Tecla, the chapel of Santa Catalina, which serves as the chapter house, the chapels of the Nativity, the Conception and San José, and the lower and upper cloisters, where the Cathedral Museum is.

Opening hours and closures

From 1 November to 18 March it is open from 9:30 to 18:00, and those already inside can stay until 19:00. From 19 March to 31 October, from 9:30 to 18:30, with stay until 19:30. It is closed on Good Friday, 25 December and 1 January, and it cannot be visited during the main acts of worship. For prayer, the worship area is open Monday to Saturday from 8:30 to 12:00 and from 18:30 to 20:00, and on Sundays from 8:30 to 14:30 and from 18:30 to 20:30.

Tickets

General admission costs €11; €10 for over-65s and groups of up to ten; €6 for pilgrims with a credential; €5 for students aged 19 to 27, large families, the unemployed and people with disabilities; €3 for ages 8 to 18; and free up to 7, at the ticket office. Reductions are verified at the ticket office. On Tuesday from 9:30 to 11:25 general admission is free: you collect it only at the ticket office, until 11:15, and it cannot be booked. On other days, buy online at the official shop to avoid the queue. The multimedia guide is free with the official app and the audio guide costs €1. You can take photographs without flash or tripod; food and animals are not allowed in, except guide dogs.

Other visits

The cathedral organises Stella, a night visit; Matemáticas en la catedral (Mathematics in the Cathedral), a themed tour; and, with Patrimonio de la Luz, a guided visit to the quarries the stone came from. Schools in the province go in free.

When you leave, go up to the upper town by the Merchants' Route or to the viewpoint at the castle to see the spires from above.