Santiago de Compostela: Cathedral, Pilgrim Routes and Parks

If you’re looking for a hotel in Santiago de Compostela, you can plan your stay around the themes that interest you most: the cathedral and pilgrimage tradition, architecture, museums, or paths through green spaces. The city offers different perspectives, from views over the rooftops to routes through forests and rural landscapes.

Cathedral, rooftops and the Ways of St. James

The old town of Santiago de Compostela is a famous pilgrimage destination in northwestern Spain. The cathedral is considered Spain’s most outstanding work of Romanesque art and is the destination of all the Ways of St. James. A guided tour of its rooftops takes you across the tiered roof surfaces and includes 140 steps. It ends at the Torre de la Carraca, about 72 metres high, which offers panoramic views over the city.

The routes themselves also reveal an interesting distinction: while the cathedral is the destination of all the Ways of St. James, the route to Finisterre begins in Santiago. It is the only Way of St. James that starts here. If you’re interested in the pilgrimage tradition, this gives you a sense both of the cathedral’s significance as a destination and of Santiago as the starting point of this special route.

The old town also showcases several periods of architecture. Its buildings include examples of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical styles. These varied styles give the historic surroundings a multifaceted architectural character, which continues in views of the cathedral and its architectural history.

Museums and historic sites

The Cathedral Museum combines history and art with the cathedral’s architecture: the visit covers three independently accessible areas in different parts of the building and conveys its historical and artistic significance. The Pilgrimage and Santiago Museum is located in the former Banco de España building on Plaza de Platerías, a few metres from the cathedral’s south façade. On the second floor, a large skylight offers views of the Basilica of Compostela, the Torre de la Berenguela and much of the old town.

The Museo do Pobo Galego takes a different approach. Its permanent exhibitions cover coastal life, traditional occupations, rural life, traditional dress and architecture. This brings everyday life, work and Galician culture into focus alongside pilgrimage history and religious architecture. The Monastery of Bonaval was founded in the 13th century by Santo Domingo de Guzmán and rebuilt in the Baroque style in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The city’s paths and green spaces

Green spaces offer another way to experience Santiago de Compostela. Alameda Park borders the old town and offers views of its monumental west façade. The highest part of Belvís Park offers special views across the entire city. The park also follows the Belvís watercourse through a long, narrow meadow watered by a small stream.

Bosque de Galicia lies on the slopes of Monte Gaiás and has a three-kilometre network of paths. The route to Gaiás passes through the old town and along paths through this forest. From the summit of Monte Gaiás, it offers views over the city and is a good place to watch the sunset over Santiago. The Granxa do Xesto Park is different: it combines woodland with eucalyptus, pine and native species, meadows, and small lakes fed by natural springs. Its network of paths also covers three kilometres.

A riverside path along the small Sarela River runs through woodland and connects the Ponte Sarela tannery with the Carme de Abaixo tannery. The Sar riverside path is four kilometres long, surrounded by the city and hills, and passes through rural Santiago. Brañas de Sar offers another type of landscape: this 33-hectare area is part of the Sar River basin. Its ethnographic complex preserves five watermills, as well as channels, walls, wash areas and weirs.

The parks also each have their own character. Vista Alegre Park retains features of a former private garden, including old trees, a pavilion and shaded seating areas. In Parque da Música en Compostela, a stream forms a large reflecting pool that mirrors the auditorium’s contemporary architecture. The green spaces thus offer not only paths, but also views, water and preserved garden features.

Market and local cuisine

At Mercado de Abastos market hall, the Marisco Manía market bar can prepare produce bought there while you wait. You can then enjoy it fresh on site—a specific culinary highlight that connects a visit to the market with the hall’s produce.

Discover more destinations: Roxos, Formaris, Reguengo, Paizás, Rianxo, Os Fornos, Bergantiños, Artes.

Back to the regional travel overview: Coruña.