Getting Lost in the Streets of Santiago de Compostela

Hello sweet friends,

For centuries, thousands of pilgrims have travelled on Saint James’ Way every year, finally reaching the capital of Galicia and entering the iconic Cathedral. According to tradition, this is the burial place of the relics of James the Apostle, discovered in the 9th century.

But Santiago de Compostela is very much a living city, with other attractions for travellers, pilgrim or not: countless restaurants and bars where you can enjoy the delicious seafood of Galicia, a UNESCO World Heritage old town centre, daring contemporary art… There's plenty to do in this city which combines history with a younger modern side.

Perhaps the most special place in Santiago is Plaza del Obradoiro. Life in the city seems to revolve around this point, the site of the Cathedral, Raxoi Palace, and the luxurious Hostal de los Reyes Católicos, said to be the world’s oldest hotel. On this square you’re likely to see pilgrims with their inevitable walking sticks and scallop shells. There is a ritual for visiting the Cathedral for the first time: admire the Portico de la Gloria, embrace the figure of Saint James on the main altar, go down to the crypt, go up to the rooftop (what a view!) and if you’re lucky, see the botafumeiro (an enormous censer) in action—they only use it on religious holidays or if requested in advance.

Around the Cathedral, every step is a discovery, with other very charming squares such as Praterías (with the best view of the belltower, La Berenguela) or Quintana with its pretty stairs and other monuments like the imposing Monastery of San Martiño Pinario.
It’s curious that even the far outskirts of the city seem as if they were designed for admiring the Cathedral. An example is the quiet Alameda Park and the viewing point of Monte do Gozo, with sculptures of pilgrims which have starred in so many photographs.

On our way back, we also stopped in Valença do Minho.

Valença do Minho is a fortified village, strategically located above the Miño River, close to the Spanish border, which constitutes one of the greenest and most fertile lands of this region of northern Portugal.

This peculiar divided city constituted the first defense line against attacks from the neighbouring country.

Have you been to those places?

- Franzi

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Sources:
https://www.spain.info/en/destination/santiago-compostela/
https://www.portugaltravel.org/valenca-do-minho

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