Santiago de Compostela travel guide

Background

Relics have been a big deal in Christendom since the early Middle Ages, and especially in Spain. Christ physically ascended into heaven, and the Virgin was bodily assumed there too. With the big two out of the question, the apostles were just about the best physical remains an ambitious church could hope for. But whether you believe that the bones of Saint James are, or were ever, under the altar of the cathedral is beside the point; the city has transcended its origins completely, as the number of atheist pilgrims trudging towards it attests.

After the discovery of the tomb in the early 9th century, pilgrims soon began flooding in, and the city had achieved such prosperity by AD 968 that it was sacked by none other than the Vikings, who were never averse to a long voyage for a bit of plunder. Some 29 years later Santiago had another bad day, when Al-Manzur came from the south and sacked it again. Legend says that an old monk was praying by the tomb of Saint James while chaos reigned around. The Moorish warlord himself burst in and was so impressed by the old man’s courage that he swore on his honour to safeguard the tomb and the monk from all harm.

Although the city was razed to the ground, Santiago continued to flourish as Saint James became a sort of patron-cum-field marshal of the Reconquista. Pilgrims came from across Europe and the cathedral was constructed to receive them in appropriate style; they used to bed down for the night in its interior. Constant architectural modifications followed from Santiago’s swelling coffers, which also paid for the 40-something churches in the small city. This restructuring reached its peak in the 17th and early 18th centuries, from which period most of the granite-built centre that exists today dates. A rapid decline followed as pilgrimage waned and A Coruña thrived at Santiago’s expense. The French occupied Santiago during the Napoleonic Wars, and carried off a large amount of plunder.

The late 20th century brought a rapid revival as the age of tourism descended on Spain in force. Santiago is high on many visitors’ lists and, unexpectedly, the Camino itself is now phenomenally popular again, with pilgrims of all creeds making the journey in whole or part on foot or bicycle. Although A Coruña remains the provincial capital, Santiago is the seat of the Xunta (semi-autonomous Galician government established in 1982), which has provided a further boost to the town’s economy. The Holy Year in 2004 saw a flood of visitors to the city; with more than a million in town on the feast day of Santiago, this ancient pilgrimage city is definitely back in the big time.

Best time to visit

During summer Santiago is thronged with tourists and pilgrims; if you don’t mind that, this can be the best time to be there. It rains slightly less, the old town is buzzing, and there’s the fiesta of Santiago on 25 July. If you’re prepared to get wet, spring and autumn are good times to visit; there are fewer people, accommodation prices are down, and the university is in session, guaranteeing rampant nightlife until dawn.

Getting around

The interesting bits of town are mostly very close together. The main places you’ll need public transport to access are the airport and the bus station.

Ins and outs

Getting there

The traditional and now increasingly popular way to get to Santiago is a five-week walk from the French Pyrenees, but there are ways to cheat. If flying, for example, Ryanair runs a daily service from London Stansted to Santiago’s airport (SCQ), situated 11 km east of town in Lavacolla. Ryanair also serve the city from Liverpool, Rome, and Frankfurt Hahn. There are daily flights from London run by BA/Iberia, as well as frequent internal connections (including a Ryanair flight to Madrid), and flights to other European destinations including Brussels and Amsterdam. Buses run from the airport to the the bus station via the centre. Another bus runs from Praza de Galicia to coincide with Ryanair flights. Santiago is well served by interurban buses. The bus station is a 20-minute walk northeast of the centre. Bus Nos 5 and C5 run there from Praza de Galicia via Rúa da Virxe da Cerca. If arriving by bus, head up the hill directly opposite the bus station café and turn left at the big intersection. The train station is south of the centre, about a 15-minute walk down Rúa de Hórreo (off Praza Galicia). There are trains to the rest of Galicia and Spain.

Santiago de Compostela

Buy a copy of the newspaper El Correo Gallego for a complete list of transport times.

Air

There’s a daily Ryanair flight to London Stansted, as well as services to Liverpool, Frankfurt Hahn, and Roma Ciampino. Aer Lingus fly to Dublin, and Vueling to Paris CDG, while Air Berlin link Santiago with many Austrian and German cities via Mallorca. Ryanair also service Madrid. There are regular flights on full-service airlines to London, Brussels, and Amsterdam, as well as internal ones to Madrid and Barcelona and, less frequently, Bilbao and Sevilla. Buses connect the airport with the city centre and bus station, stopping at the corner of Av Xeneral Pardiñas and Rúa da República de El Salvador; they run approximately hourly. A Ryanair bus runs from Plaza Galicia to coincide with their flights.

Bus

Local

Within Galicia, buses run hourly to A Coruña (via motorway 45 mins, via road 1 hr 20 mins), 3 a day to Fisterra and Camariñas. 8 buses to Lugo, hourly ones to Pontevedra (45 mins) and Vigo, and 7 to Ourense. Buses run hourly to Ribeira, and 6 times a day to Vilagarcía, Cambados and O Grove.

Long distance

Services connect with Bilbao (3 daily, 12 hrs, €50.39), Ponferrada (5 daily, 3½-4 hrs, €15.82), Madrid (5-6 daily, 8-9 hrs, €41.44), Oviedo (5 a day, 5 hrs 30 mins, €25.95) and Gijón, and Salamanca (2 daily, 6 hrs 15 mins, €24.25) via Zamora, among other destinations.

Car hire

Autos Brea, C Gómez Ulla 10, T981 562 670, http://www.autosbrea.com is reasonably central. There are several multinationals at the airport.

Train

Trains run regularly to A Coruña (45 mins, €5.50), Vigo (1 hr 20 mins, from €8.40), and Ourense (4 a day, 1 hr 30 mins, from €10-19); there’s also a sleeper and a day train to Madrid (7-9 hrs, €46.20).

Internet

The tourist office website http://www.turismosantiago.com keeps an updated list of cybercafés, of which there are many in town, including Cyber Nova 50, Rúa Nova 50, €1.50/hr; and Mundonet, Rúa do Xelmírez 19, from €1/hr.

Laundry

Lavandeira, Av Rosalía de Castro 116, T981 942 110. A self-service laundromat with plenty of machines.

Medical services

The Hospital Xeral is fairly central on Rúa das Galeras, T981 950 000.

Police and emergency

Dial 112 for an emergency; 092 contacts the municipal police. The handiest police station is on Av Rodrigo de Padrón around the corner from the post office.

Post office

The main post office is on Travesa de Fonseca a block from the cathedral.

Telephone

There are several cheap locutorios around Praza Roxa.