Catedral de Santiago (Santiago Cathedral), Bilbao (must see)

The Santiago Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to the apostle Saint James the Greater. It is a stop on the Pilgrims' way to the shrine of Saint James of Compostela. Santiago Cathedral, built in 1379, is located in the Old Section of Bilbao.

The cathedral has a Latin cross plan with three naves. The naves are separated by supporting columns. The presbytery is within a nave and ambulatory. The Gothic cloister has two porticos. The religious temple represents the 15th-century Gothic and Gothic Revival architectural styles in the facade and spire.

The facade and rose window are Neo-Gothic in style. The ogival doorway is flanked by statues of Peter and Paul. The Neo-Gothic tower is a work of the architect Severino de Achucarro.

On the north side is the 16th-century Gothic portal, Angel Gate (Puerta del Angel). The large portico on the south side was built over the old necropolis in 1580. It acts as a buttress for the epistle nave. The southern portal is the Gothic style featuring flared archivolts and no tympanum.

The wide ambulatory houses eleven chapels. There is a total of 16 chapels in the cathedral, including the crypt-oratory. The cloister is attached to the north side of the building. The cloister garden is bounded by four vaulted bays. It has two accesses, from inside the church, and from the street, via the Angel Gate (Puerta del Angel).