After walking or bicycling for several days and arriving in Santiago we are sure that you’ ll want more. For this reason, from Albergues del Camino we bring you 6 things you can do when you arrive in Compostela. Take note because there is something for everyone.
Door of forgiveness
If you arrive in the city in 2021 or 2022, don’t forget to cross the Puerta Santa or Puerta de los Perdones. The passage through it means the expiation of sins.
The Puerta Santa is the most famous and popular of those existing in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. It is an access located at the back that overlooks the Plaza de A Quintana. It is also known for being the quintessential symbol of the Holy Years or Xacobeos since it only opens when they are celebrated and this happens every 6, 5, 6 and 11 years.
Tour the Cathedral of Santiago
Once in the Plaza del Obradoido, surely we don’t need to encourage you to enter the Cathedral of Santiago, since when you see it you won’t be able to resist entering it and discovering all its corners.
Its interior is dominated by the Main Altar, in a baroque style and where you will see the famous Botafumeiro suspended. This huge censer has become a symbol of the Cathedral of Santiago and, consequently, of the entire city.
One of the greatest traditions at the end of the pilgrimages is to embrace the statue of the Apostle Santiago. With the Covid, the hug has been replaced by a bow.
After embracing the Apostle, pilgrims usually go to the apostolic crypt. This’ s the ultimate goal of pilgrimages moved by faith. In this place is the tomb with the remains of the Apostle Santiago.
To finish the visit, we recommend walking in front of some of the chapels that exist inside the Cathedral of Santiago and that are dedicated to different saints and virgins.
Stroll through the streets of Santiago
Walking the streets of the old town of Santiago is a real pleasure even on rainy days. In it you’ ll be able to delight yourself with splendid buildings of Romanesque, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical styles … and discover peculiar corners, such as the famous one, which is only 90 centimeters wide.
If you want to know all the corners that this millenary city hides in Galicia Incoming, we recommend that you sign up for the excursions that we have programmed: a guided tour through the streets of Compostela that will surprise you.
Enjoy Galician gastronomy
When talking about gastronomy, many pilgrims think of Rúa do Franco, but throughout the city there are a good number of restaurants, bars and taperías where you can enjoy the Galician flavor. We’ re sure that you won’t be disappointed.
In addition, an almost obligatory activity is the visit to the Abastos market (the second most visited place in Santiago after the Cathedral) where you can see how the traditional market works and see the excellent quality of its products live.
And if you have been wanting to walk
You have come to Compostela from anywhere in the world after walking or bicycling for days, but your body asks you for more, take your backpack again and go to the end of the world.
The Camino a Fisterra and Muxía takes you to one of the westernmost coasts of Europe, the place where the Camino meets the Atlantic Ocean. A new goal for your pilgrimage.
And if what you want is to know the end of the world, but without continuing to walk, in Galicia Incoming we offer you a tour of the Costa da Morte, where you can visit the most rugged coast of Galicia.
To finish you have to go south
The wealth of a Galician community is incalculable. The differences from north to south are palpable and wonderful. A wild north contrasts with a tender and fertile south.
If once in Santiago you want to know the other side of Galicia, we’ ll prepare an excursion marked by the long seafaring tradition of Galicia: Pontevedra, Combarro, O Grove will dazzle us with their large marine spaces, also including a catamaran ride along the estuary with tasting of mussels on board. The excursion ends in Cambados with a visit to this fishing village.
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