Santiago de Compostela

Introduction

Santiago de Compostela

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Santiago de Compostela is the capital of Galicia, an autonomous region in the northwest of Spain. The city has about 100,000 inhabitants and is placed on the Unesco World Heritage List. It is of course most famous because the cathedral is the official ending point of the pilgrimage route that many people have been walking since over 1000 years, the Route of Santiago de Compostela!

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

• Although it just ends here, the Route of Santiago de Compostela is what made the city itself famous in the first place.
• Cathedral and main plaza.
• The old city, a Unesco World Heritage Site.
• Pazo de Raxoi (Raxoi's Palace).
• Hostal dos Reis Católicos - used to be a pilgrim's hospice, now it is a parador (luxury hotel in historical building).

Events and Festivals

Weather

Weather in this part of Spain is cooler and wetter compared to places to the south, east and central parts of the country. Summers last from late May to September when temperatures are around 22 to 26 degrees Celsius on average during the day while nights average around 12 to 15 degrees Celsius. Winters are from late November to early March when it's about 10 to 15 degrees Celsius during the day and nights are quite cold with 4 to 6 degrees Celsius.
Precipitation is mainly concentrated in the colder half of year and from October to April you can expect some rain on about half of the number of days. Summers are better with 6-8 days with some rain.

Getting There

By Plane

Santiago de Compostela Airport is located near the city and is the most important hub if you arrive by plane.

Quite a few airlines serve the city. Ryanair flies to and from London, Alicante, Frankfurt, Madrid, Rome and Reus (near Barcelona). Several other airlines have flights to destinations in Spain like Palma de Mallorca, most of the Canary Islands (mostly with Air Europa, Bilbao, Valencia, Barcelona and Málaga. Vueling has flights to Paris as well and there are seasonal flights with Aer Lingus to Dublin and with other airlines to Buenos Aires and Caracas, which gives you an idea of the importance of this city for catholics!

By Train

Trains to Madrid take 8 to 9 hours and you can either choose to travel by day or night. Hourly trains go to A Coruna, Pontevedra and Vigo. At least six or trains go daily to Ourense and one to Irún, on the French border, via León, Burgos and San Sebastian.
Check the Spanish Railway website for details regarding schedules and prices.

By Car

The AP (Autopista) nummer 9 connects Santiago de Compostela with Pontevedra and A Coruna, but it is a toll route. There is a slower tollfree road as well though.

By Bus

Castromil runs buses thoughout Galicia, including to Pontevedra and A Coruna.
ALSA offers many connections to places further away including Madrid, Salamanca, Cáceres, Seville, Barcelona, Lisbon, Porto, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Brussels and Zürich.
Eurolines has buses througout Spain and Europe as well.

By Foot

The most classical way to arrive to Santiago de Compostela is of course by foot, like the millions of pilgrims before you. For more information about the check the guide for the Route of Santiago de Compostela.

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

By Foot

By Bike

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

• University of Santiago de Compostela

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

If you want to post a card, you can head to the post office (Correos). The Spanish post is not yet as efficient as colleagues in other countries so receiving a card can take a bit longer than the number of days that it should take. On the website of Correos, you can find the locations of nearby post offices.
Post offices are generally open from 8:30am to 2:00pm, although times can vary and the main post office usually is open until the early evening. Most will also open again on Saturday mornings, but in the smaller towns will close as early as 12 noon. When posting a letter, look for a yellow box and, if possible, post at the post office itself where there will also be divisions for local, national and international mail. Be prepared for long queues at the post office. This is why tobacco shops sell stamps and many will also have the facility to weigh packages.
Standard letters/postcards of up to 20 grams sent within Spain are €0.34. However, non-standard letters/postcards of up to 20g are €0.39. Letters/postcards of 20 to 50 grams are €0.45. In the case of international shipping, the price is €0.64 to most countries within Europe for standard envelopes (letters/postcards) up to 20g, for a few European countries and outside Europe it is €0.78.