Santiago de Compostela · ES
Santiago de Compostela: Camino's End Highlights
The journey's end for a million pilgrims, around the great cathedral of Saint James and its four magnificent granite squares.
What's the walk about?
Welcome to Santiago de Compostela, the spiritual heart of Galicia and one of the holiest cities in the Christian world. For over a thousand years, pilgrims have walked here from across Europe along the Camino de Santiago, the Way of Saint James, to reach the tomb of the apostle beneath the great cathedral. This is a city of damp granite, scallop shells, bagpipes and endless rain-washed beauty, a World Heritage old town built almost entirely of stone. On this gentle loop we take in the classic view of the cathedral, stand in the square where every pilgrim's journey ends, and circle the cathedral through its four magnificent squares, finishing at a glorious food market. Pull up your hood against the famous Galician drizzle, and let us walk to journey's end.
What you'll see
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1
Parque da Alameda
Park
A gracious nineteenth-century park on the edge of the old town, famous for its wooded walks, its statue of two beloved local sisters, and the postcard-perfect view of the cathedral's spires.
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2
Praza do Obradoiro
Square
The grand main square of Santiago and the emotional end point of the Camino, where exhausted, joyful pilgrims arrive to gaze up at the cathedral's soaring Baroque facade.
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3
Pazo de Raxoi
Palace
An elegant neoclassical palace facing the cathedral across the main square, now the city hall and seat of the Galician government, crowned by a statue of Saint James the Moor-slayer on horseback.
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4
Hostal dos Reis Católicos
Historic Hotel
A magnificent former royal hospital for pilgrims, founded in 1499 by Ferdinand and Isabella, with a superb Plateresque doorway, now a luxurious parador that claims to be the oldest hotel in the world.
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5
Catedral de Santiago
Cathedral
The great cathedral built over the tomb of Saint James the Apostle, goal of the Camino, a Romanesque church behind a soaring Baroque facade, famous for its giant swinging incense burner.
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6
San Martiño Pinario
Monastery
An enormous Benedictine monastery beside the cathedral, one of the largest in Spain, with a severe Baroque facade hiding spectacular gilded altarpieces and grand cloisters, now a seminary and museum.
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7
Praza da Inmaculada
Square
The square at the north door of the cathedral, framed between the cathedral and the vast monastery, the point where pilgrims arriving on the main French Way traditionally first reached the shrine.
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8
Praza da Quintana
Square
A grand, sloping square behind the cathedral, divided into the square of the living and the square of the dead, and home to the Holy Door, opened only in Holy Years.
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9
Praza das Praterías
Square
The intimate square of the silversmiths on the cathedral's south side, graced by an elegant fountain of horses and the only surviving Romanesque doorway of the cathedral.
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10
Mercado de Abastos
Market
Santiago's magnificent granite food market, the second most-visited sight in the city after the cathedral, overflowing with the extraordinary seafood, produce and specialities of Galicia.
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