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When in Santiago...

Esaunders

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Planning to work the Camino Norte September 2016
Hi everyone!
I can't believe it but I'm sitting here 20km from Santiago after walking the Camino del Norte and the Camino Primitivo. I'm ready for the final stretch tomorrow and needless to say it's exciting times!
My plan is to carry on walking to Muxia and then across ending in Finisterre but once I'm back in Santiago I have 2 days before my flight out....SO any suggestions of great things to do in Santiago itself?!
All the best!
Emma x
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
When I was there in July, there were guided walking tours of the old town. I thought the tour was pretty good. I saw parts of the city that I had completely missed the first time I was there. There was no charge for the walk - probably 2-3 hours long - but you were expected to give the guide a tip. I cannot remember exactly who gave the tour, but you can probably find out from the Tourism Office.
 
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Things I have enjoyed in this wonderful city:

-Up early one morning at dawn to walk the quiet streets.

-Rooftop tour of the Cathedral

-Stroll through Alameda Park ~ beautiful views of the Cathedral from the promenade. Look for the the Acoustic Bench and the poet Valle-Inclan on his bench.

-Sit against a pillar opposite the Cathedral in Plaza Obradoiro (if it's not raining :) and pilgrim / people watch and just enjoy the energy of the plaza

-Stroll the streets in the evening ~ depending on the weather there may be outdoor music in different spots

-Visit Abastos Market

-Visit Bonoval Park

-Coffee or a drink at Cafe Casino

-The unknown - things that are discovered just by being there and wandering about.

Congratulations on your wonderful camino!!
 
Last edited:
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Things I have enjoyed in this wonderful city:

-Up early one morning at dawn to walk the quiet streets.

-Rooftop tour of the Cathedral

-Stroll through Alameda Park ~ beautiful views of the Cathedral from the promenade.

-Sit against a pillar opposite the Cathedral in Plaza Obradoiro (if it's not raining :) and pilgrim / people watch and just enjoy the energy of the plaza

-Stroll the streets in the evening ~ depending on the weather there may be outdoor music in different spots

-Visit Abastos Market

-Visit Bonoval Park

-Coffee or a drink at Cafe Casino

-The unknown - things that are discovered just by being there and wandering about.

Congratulations on your wonderful camino!!

Oh yeah!!!
 
Hi Emma, Congratulations,

I suggest attending the Mass in English held in one of the side chapels of the cathedral; the Pilgrim Office and also the Pilgrim's House will be able to tell you more or send a pm to Johnny Walker on this forum as he is one of the lovely people who makes this happen. It is a small gathering, lacking the grandeur of the Cathedral's Pilgrim's Mass but making up for that with its spiritual intimacy - you don't have to be a Catholic to attend.
 
Things I have enjoyed in this wonderful city:

-Up early one morning at dawn to walk the quiet streets.

-Rooftop tour of the Cathedral

-Stroll through Alameda Park ~ beautiful views of the Cathedral from the promenade. Look for the the Acoustic Bench and the poet Valle-Inclan on his bench.

-Sit against a pillar opposite the Cathedral in Plaza Obradoiro (if it's not raining :) and pilgrim / people watch and just enjoy the energy of the plaza

-Stroll the streets in the evening ~ depending on the weather there may be outdoor music in different spots

-Visit Abastos Market

-Visit Bonoval Park

-Coffee or a drink at Cafe Casino

-The unknown - things that are discovered just by being there and wandering about.

Congratulations on your wonderful camino!!

Sounds like a perfect day! Congratulations, Emma
 
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Cathedral roof top absolutely! And eating!

At the Mercado de abastos, if you go in the morning you can buy the fish and seafood you like and take it to some of the restaurant stalls, tell them how you would like it prepared, and what time you'll be back to eat it. For meat nothing beats a restaurant you will be passing on your left on your way to the old town today, on Rua San Pedro, called O Dezaseis.
http://dezaseis.com/

If the weather is good, tea or a drink on the Parador's tint terrace facing the cathedral, and a visit of the Parador's loby amd lounge. Also beautiful even if you are staying elsewhere is the San Martin Pinario entrance. On Rua Porta de Pena, across the street from Pension Girasol, there's a beautiful old how with a lovely garden: it's also a great place to have a drink (they don't serve meals).
 
Online you can get a Santiago Walking Tour from http://trekopedia.com/?page_id=21138

They have a kml file available for download that may work with your smartphone's GPS app. Normally on their webpage you can also see the route displayed in an interactive window but it doesn't seem to be working at the moment. Also, besides the tour described on that webpage, there are some links on their page to download the walking tour as an ebook; ePub and PDF formats are available.

Remember though that the Pilgrims' Office has moved.

For those who are starting their trip to Santiago instead of ending it visit the Trekodeia page http://trekopedia.com/?page_id=469
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Hi everyone!
I can't believe it but I'm sitting here 20km from Santiago after walking the Camino del Norte and the Camino Primitivo. I'm ready for the final stretch tomorrow and needless to say it's exciting times!
My plan is to carry on walking to Muxia and then across ending in Finisterre but once I'm back in Santiago I have 2 days before my flight out....SO any suggestions of great things to do in Santiago itself?!
All the best!
Emma x
Last year I broke my toe in Finisterre, slightly curtailing my adventures when the bus brought me back to Santiago, and validating a definite gear change. These were my favourite things over those few days...
- Definitely the rooftop tour of the cathedral: there's usually one English language tour each day, but you need to book it.
- Breakfast at Milongas on Rua do Preguntoiro, opposite Albergue The Last Stamp and about 30 metres down - great pastries, good coffee and a really gorgeous atmosphere
- Definitely tapas at A Taberna Do Bispo, and not just the once
- An evening drink in Casa das Crechas, on the Camino just near Albergue Azabache, sitting outside but listening to the live music from within
- the live singers in the Praza Obradoido most evenings.
Whatever you do, congratulations and buen Camino!
Deb
 
Do the free Pilgrim's Meal at the Parador. A trippy tradition, plus you get to see the beautiful inside spaces normally only allowed to paying guests, AND the hotel kitchen. Cool.
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
Do the free Pilgrim's Meal at the Parador. A trippy tradition, plus you get to see the beautiful inside spaces normally only allowed to paying guests, AND the hotel kitchen. Cool.

Maybe -- but do respect the needs of those less wealthy pilgrims who might actually need rather than want the meal. That's actually been made far easier to do, socially and practically, self-policing-wise, than it used to be.

Then again, I was once allowed by the Parador to be an 11th Pilgrim, which was astonishing to everyone & including me, and was an extraordinarily humbling and yet honourable status.

Anyway, the breakfast there has always been pretty much exactly on a first-come first-served basis, and is rarely filled, so if it's just for the experience IMO that's the one to aim for, given that it's an extra luxury that the less wealthy pilgrims don't really even need in the first place, and you can take that from one of them ... :p It is also excellent.
 
I think the first 10 who show up with a compostella get a free meal, served in the staff eating area...but let #11 in as well. I didn't do it, but I also think there doesn't need to be a 'saving it' for those who need it the most...if one meal is that important, a little more time should have gone into planning and saving for the trip.
I thought Parador food was nice, but not nicer than any other nice hotel food, and not as nice as the AC Palacio del Carmen
 
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No, they never allow more than 10 Pilgrims -- and BTW for good practical reasons, because there simply is no room for more than 10 in the comedor ; as well as for the more ritual reason that the 10 is what's established.

I am the only Pilgrim that I know to have been the 11th, and there was genuine shock on the faces of everyone involved, from the doorman to the desk manager to the chef to the other Pilgrims. I was myself shocked when I arrived in the comedor, to discover that there were already 10.

There simply are no exceptions ; and yet, they gave me one.

And that has nothing to do with the Parador -- but everything to do with the Camino at its very heart, even on the last day of it.
 
Hi everyone!
I can't believe it but I'm sitting here 20km from Santiago after walking the Camino del Norte and the Camino Primitivo. I'm ready for the final stretch tomorrow and needless to say it's exciting times!
My plan is to carry on walking to Muxia and then across ending in Finisterre but once I'm back in Santiago I have 2 days before my flight out....SO any suggestions of great things to do in Santiago itself?!
All the best!
Emma x

Sit in the Square. For hours. Enjoy.
 

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