World City Guide

Key Attractions

Praza do Obradoiro (Obradoiro or Workplace Square)
The key attraction of Santiago de Compostella is the Cathedral. From the Praza do Obradoiro, its enormity and sheer grandeur is first appreciated. Sharing the name of the great Baroque faade that is one of its centrepieces, the paved Cathedral square comprises a whole ensemble of architectural gems. Probably the best surviving example of Romanesque civic architecture in Spain, the Pazo de Xelmrez (next to the Cathedral cloisters) has a perfect vaulted medieval interior behind its 18th-century faade. On the north side of the square, the Hostal dos Reis Catlicos, with its four courtyards, was built by Ferdinand and Isabella, as a pilgrim hospice and is now one of Spain’s loveliest parador hotels. The Colexio de San Xerome is a smaller medieval building with a finely decorated 15th-century portal, while the Colexio de Fonseca, immediately behind it, is a Renaissance college decorated inside and out. The newest monument in the square, the elegant Pazo de Raxoi, is a neo-classical palace and former seminary, now housing local government offices. The streets and lanes opening off the square lead to other lovely parts of the Old Quarter.

Pazo de Xelmrez (Palace of Archbishop Xelmirez)
Praza do Obradoiro
Tel: (981) 572 300 or 560 527.
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1330 and 1600-1930 (Apr-Sep).
Admission charge.

Hostal dos Reis Catlicos
Praza do Obradoiro 1
Tel: (981) 582 200.
Website: www.parador.es
Opening hours: Daily 24 hours.
Free admission.

Catedral de Santiago de Compostela
For many centuries, the city has been the destination for pilgrimages. Its oldest parts are Romanesque, commenced in 1075, although much of the modern fabric of the Cathedral is brilliant Baroque. The magnificently decorated 18th-century Obradoiro faade (the ‘workplace’ faade, named after the stonecutters who worked there during the construction of the Cathedral) was created by the Santiago-born architect Fernando de Casas y Novoa, who superimposed it on the original Romanesque plan of the basilica. Just inside is the Prtico da Gloria, a masterpiece of Romanesque sculpture that once opened onto the square with almost 200 sculptures of Galician granite, dating from 1188. Look for the fingerholes worn into the stone over the years, by pilgrims who, giving thanks at the end of their lengthy journey, prayed with the fingers of one hand pressed into the roots of the Tree of Jesse, below St James. From here, the great nave opens towards the chancel and the monumental Baroque high altar, below which lie the relics of St James, in a Roman mausoleum. The crossing lantern houses the suspension mechanism for the botafumeiro. This is a huge Baroque censer whose pendulum swings down the entire length of the transepts during special ceremonies, creating an awe-inspiring spectacle.

There are many smaller beauties within the Cathedral, including the Chapel of La Corticela (dating from the Cathedral’s foundation), the ornate Chapel of El Pilar and the finely worked Mondragn Chapel. The faade at the opposite end of the Cathedral from the Obradoiro faade has a beautifully ornamental clock tower, the Torre de la Trinidad, as well as the famous Puerta Santa (Holy Door). This is opened only during the years when the Feast of St James (25 July) falls on a Sunday.

Praza do Obradoiro
Tel: (981) 583 548.
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1100-1300 and 1600-1800, Sun 1000-1330 and 1600-1900.
Free admission.

Museo y Tesoro de la Catedral (Cathedral Museum and Treasury)
Housed in the lovely 16th-century Cathedral cloisters, the Cathedral Museum holds relics of the long history of Santiago de Compostela, as well as the Archive and Library. The Cathedral treasures stored here, include the botafumeiro (giant incense box), when it is not being. The archaeological section includes fragments of the original Romanesque Cathedral structure, while the tapestry galleries have splendid French and Spanish hangings.

Praza do Obradoiro and Praza das Prateras
Tel: (981) 560 527.
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1100-1330 and 1630-1830, Sun and public holidays 1000-1330 and 1600-1900.
Admission charge.

Praza da Quintana (Quintana Square)
Quintana Square, with its flight of steps that divide it into the curiously named Quintana of the Living and Quintana of the Dead, faces the apse of the Cathedral, with its famous Holy Door and Royal Door. The Convento de San Paio de Antealtares, opposite the Cathedral, is one of the city’s oldest foundations. Dating to the ninth century, it originally housed Benedictine nuns. It has a stark faade with 48 barred windows, leavened by some charming sculptural decorations around the doors. The monastery church is a Baroque design on a Greek cross plan, with a lovely shell-covered dome. Also on the square, the Casa da Parra is a Baroque mansion with suitably florid trimmings.

Praza das Prateras (Silversmith's Square)
The Silversmith’s Square has, at its centre, the ornate Fuente de los Caballos, a fountain of four horses with webbed feet. The arcades around the square are still lined with many shops selling silver articles.

San Martio Pinario Monastery
The Praza da Inmaculada is dominated by the grand Baroque faade of the Benedictine monastery of San Martio Pinario. The monastery church houses a vast altarpiece that depicts its patron riding alongside St James.

Praza da Inmaculada
Opening hours Tues-Sun 1030-1340 and 1630-1830.
Admission charge.