Tourist information - Santiago Compostela
Santiago de Compostela, World Heritage City as well as capital of Galicia, is the final landmark on the St. James pilgrimage route. Centuries of splendour and development have left us a metropolitan structure in which the medieval Christian heritage is combined with monumental Baroque buildings. The Parador de Turismo de Santiago, right at the Plaza del Obradoiro, welcomes guests and also offers them the opportunity to taste the best of the Galician culinary tradition. It is a tradition which reaches its peak through the Festival of the Apostle Saint James, declared of International Tourist Interest.
The legend tells that the appearance of the remains of the Apostle Saint James were the origin of this city (9th C.), which soon became a centre for pilgrimages and a holy city on a par with Jerusalem along with Rome. Medieval Santiago experienced centuries of scientific, artistic along with literary interchange thanks to the large numbers of pilgrims arriving from around Europe. The Pilgrim's Road to Santiago, together with the city of Santiago of Compostela, is today a World Heritage Site because of the historical and artistic nature of the route. With the Catholic Monarchs and also Archbishop Fonseca, the University arrived around the city and, within the centuries that followed, numerous religious orders developed monasteries and churches in its streets, leading to the rich Renaissance and Baroque appearance of the Galician capital.
The centre of the city is the Plaza del Obradoiro, which has important monuments, including the Cathedral. Its current Baroque façade gives way to a Romanesque doorway from the original building, the Pórtico de la Gloria, developed by Master Mateo at the 12th century. Inside, Romanesque and also Gothic elements alternate along with other Baroque style decoration. Within the Cathedral you have to follow the tradition: bump your head on the figure of its creator to acquire prudence and also wisdom. At the main altar, a bust of the Apostle Saint James awaits your embrace. Another tradition is the waving of a huge incense holder, "El Botafumeiro", around the main transept, which even reaches the vaults.
Other squares, the Plaza Quintana, Plaza Azabachería as well as Plaza de Platerías surround the various doors along with façades of the Cathedral. The latter is the only Romanesque one.
Magnificent examples of the civil Romanesque, Renaissance and also Neoclassical styles also show themselves in Obradoiro. The Pazo de Gelmírez, the College of San Jerónimo and also the Pazo Raxoi accompany the Cathedral as well as the Old Royal Hospital, today the five-star luxury 'Hostal de los Reyes Católicos', Parador de Turismo. This is an exceptional opportunity to spend the night in a building with over 500 years of history right in the heart of the medieval city.
The importance of the religious orders associated with the Pilgrim's Road to Santiago as well as the University mean this area has several churches, convents as well as monasteries, as well as aristocratic houses like those of El Cabildo, La Parra and also Los Canónigos. We could point out the monasteries of San Martín Pinario along with San Paio de Antealtares (17th C.), the convent of San Francisco as well as the college of San Clemente.
After touring the oldest streets of the city, which date from the 12th century - Rúas Franco, Vilar as well as Nova - we could check out the food market, a medieval structure. Near here stands the University (of Neoclassical plan), the Romanesque church of San Fiz de Slovio along with the Baroque church of San Agustín.
Without going far from the historical centre, we could also visit the Museum at the Collegiate Church of Sar, the Museum of the Galician People (at the Convent of Santo Domingo de Bonaval), the Pilgrimage Museum and the Galician Centre of Contemporary Art.
The best time to go to Santiago de Compostela is during the Festivals of the Apostle St. James, a festival declared of International Tourist Interest held on 25 July. In the festival it is easy to taste products as closely associated with St. James as scallops, locust lobsters and Santiago cake. Fish and shellfish from the rias, Santiago parsnip tops as well as Padrón peppers make up among the most varied cuisines in Galicia, all washed down with wines from one of the five Galician denominations of origin.
The capital of the Galician community is a perfect starting point for touring all the province of A Coruña. On its coast you will discover the Rías Baixas, with medieval fishing villages like Noia along with Muros. On the Costa da Morte, an area of cliffs over the Atlantic, include the "end of the world" lighthouses, like that at Finisterre (Fisterra), a place that for centuries was considered the end of the known world. Corcubión, Camariñas and also Corme-Laxe are other rias with fishing villages along with home to some of the best barnacles in the region. The Rías Altas offer us places like A Coruña, Betanzos as well as Ferrol, and also Pontedeume, Viveiro and Ribadeo, among others.
Inland we can tour the towns as well as villages that the Pilgrim's Road to Santiago passes through, like Samos, Portomarín, Melide along with Lavacolla. The Galician monastery route takes you in this province to the Cistercian abbey at Sobrado dos Monxes and also the monasteries of Caaveiro and Monfero within the Fragas del Eume Natural Park. As well as this park, the rich Galician landscape and also environment takes us to the Corrubedo dune complex and also the Carregal and Vixán lagoons, which are right on the Coruña coast.
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