Santiago de Compostela Weekend Escape
- Irene
- Jul 24, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: May 31, 2024
Santiago de Compostela city has its origins in the shrine of Saint James the Great (now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela) and it is the destination of the Way of St. James, a leading Catholic pilgrimage route since the 9th century. In 1985, the city's Old Town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
When to go: June and September are the ideal months. However, we went in January and it was actually nice! It was really cold but we were lucky and at least it wasn’t raining, which is very unusual. You should keep in mind that Santiago is one of the cities with the most rain in Spain!
Where to stay: as close to the cathedral as possible! For something more special and an indoor swimming pool, “San Francisco Hotel Monumento” is the perfect place. For something more on budget “Nova Compostela Apartments” is a great option in an exceptional location.
Day 1: Eating and drinking
Galicia is one of the regions of Spain that not only has the best food but also the most incredible white wines. So doing a wine tasting at a vineyard and tasting the gastronomy of the region should definitely be on your bucket list!
How can you enjoy the incredible gastronomy? Visit the Mercado the Abastos. Apart from walking around the market, you have to go to Nave 5 where you will find numerous restaurants but also places that will cook whatever you have bought in the market, however you want it. The market is open Monday to Saturday from 8.00 to 15.00. If you prefer to go to one of the best restaurants inside of the market, go for lunch at “Mariscomania”.
So how to reach a vineyard from Santiago:
You can visit bodegas Granbazan (address: Tremoedo, 46, 36628, Vilanova de Arousa)
The visit and tasting takes around 2 hours and starts at 12pm on Saturdays. It is recommended to reach out to them for more information about tasting times as this can vary from winter to summer.
There will be a visit around the vineyard and bodegas and you will be able to taste 4 wines alongside tapas. The price is 15 EUR per person.
To get there you can take a train to Villagarcia de Arousa (which will take 45 minutes) and then a taxi to the vineyard (which will take 10 minutes). Taxis are waiting outside of the station so it is easy to find one.
For dinner one night I would recommend to go to “Restaurante Orixe” which has amazing fish and seafood. Definitely a must.
Day 2: Santiago de Compostela Cathedral
Obviously the most important thing to do is to visit the cathedral. There are different tours and areas of the cathedral to visit but without a doubt the most impressive one is the roofs of the cathedral. The ticket is called “Decks and Carraca's Tower” and it is recommended to prebook online (price of the ticket 12 eur).
The ticket will include a guided tour of the Decks, Carraca's Tower and Gelmírez palace which takes around 60 minutes. On your own with the same ticket you can visit the Museum which takes another hour and you can choose to visit it straight after or to have, for example, a break for lunch and come back later.
For lunch that day and before going home you can go to a classic place in the city called “Casa de Xantar ~ O Dezaseis” to try the most typical dishes from Galicia such as: empanada, tortilla, scallops, octopus and all served alongside a nice Godello.
Comments