Civil architecture
Six historic areas of towns and cities in As Rías Baixas have a special attraction. Each one has its own roots and identity; but there is a common denominator: strolling through their cobbled streets will take you back in time as you discover perfectly preserved buildings, squares and monuments.
Baiona, Cambados, Combarro, Pontevedra, Tui and Vigo have been declared Historic-Artistic Sites. If you have only been passing through, it is time, map in hand, to discover their streets and squares, their popular and stately architecture, their churches and cathedrals and their markets. Here you will find the traces of our past together with restaurant services and leisure activities for visitors.
In the interior of the province you will find another historic site that you must visit, the medieval market of Agolada. Walk around its 70 stalls where people from different parts of the province gathered to buy livestock and other local products.
Start your route and let yourself be carried away by the charm of this historic legacy!
Baiona
The historical complex forms an almost closed circle and has three entrances: Santa Liberata square, Padre Fernando square and the Santísima Trinidad transept, located in the upper part of the town and one of the few canopy-covered transepts still preserved in Galicia.
The cobbled streets of Baiona show us numerous stately mansions, such as the pazo of the Correa family, which currently houses the town hall, and temples such as the Romanesque and Gothic style collegiate church of Santa María (13th century). The entire old quarter was declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1993.
In a strategic location, on Mount Boi, stands the 10th century fortress of Monterreal, an impressive walled building surrounded by beautiful beaches. Two periods are evident in its structure: the medieval period and the period from the Renaissance to the 18th century. Its three towers stand out: O Príncipe, A Tenaza and O Reloxo. The castle houses a Parador Nacional and to visit its gardens and walk along the walls you have to buy a ticket.
On one of the docks is the museum ship of the Pinta caravel, which reminds us that Baiona was the first port in Europe to receive the news of the Discovery of America.
Cambados
The monument par excellence in Cambados is the square of Fefiñáns, a 16th century complex formed by the palace of the same name, an arch-bridge, a watchtower, known as the tower of homage, and the church of San Bieito. It is a cobbled square of incomparable beauty that today constitutes the main tourist attraction in the town.
In the vicinity of Fefiñáns is the pazo of Bazán, surrounded by beautiful gardens and currently used as a Parador Nacional. If we walk towards the upper part of the village, on the slopes of A Pastora hill, we find the ruins of the church of Santa Mariña Dozo (16th century) in the parish cemetery. The temple, an example of the so-called seafaring Gothic style, has no roof. You can visit the interior to admire the curious sculptures of its arches, carved with balls and biblical representations. Cambados has a seafaring origin that can be seen in the small typical houses, such as the Ramón Cabanillas House Museum and the houses in the Santo Tomé neighbourhood, where the narrow streets lead to the sea. There you will find the remains of the tower of San Sadurniño, a fortification of medieval origin built on a small islet, which was destroyed after the Norman attacks.
Combarro
Belonging to the municipality of Poio, this village of seafaring roots was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1972. The old area, very well preserved, forms a network of cobbled alleys arranged around the streets of San Roque and A Rúa, an urban structure dating from the 18th century. It has small charming squares and humble houses with delicate stonework and baroque balconies inspired by the architecture of the pazos.
The historic centre has its maximum expression of popular architecture in the more than 20 hórreos that it preserves, one of the largest groups in Galicia, with the singularity of its coastal location. Their local name is palleiras, a name that recalls the old thatched roofs they used to have. Also noteworthy are the numerous stone crosses scattered along the narrow streets.
Combarro can be explored on foot, going up and down stairs and discovering its alleyways as you go, some of which lead directly to the sea. The village has numerous restaurants and shops selling typical Galician products and souvenirs.
Pontevedra
The historic centre of the city is one of the best preserved in Spain and has been declared an Asset of Cultural Interest since 1951. Its beautiful streets with arcades lead to an endless number of charming squares whose names remind us of their former commercial uses: A Ferrería, A Verdura and A Leña. The latter is home to three of the buildings that house the Museum of Pontevedra, recognised as one of the most representative museums of Galician history, archaeology and art.
This area also has unique popular and ancestral houses, as well as several temples of interest. The basilica of Santa María a Maior, commissioned by the Guild of Seafarers in the 15th century, stands out for its beautifully carved plateresque façade. The sanctuary of A Peregrina, whose ground plan is reminiscent of scallop shells, is a must for pilgrims on the Portuguese Way and for all visitors to the city.
Another of the most visited monuments in the capital of the Lérez are the ruins of the Gothic convent of San Domingos, which houses archaeological pieces. The Museum of Pontevedra offers free guided tours from Tuesday to Sunday.
These streets are also an exceptional place for tapas, as it is customary in the local bars and restaurants to accompany drinks with a good aperitif.
Tui
Tui is a unique example of a medieval city, located on a rocky promontory on the banks of the river Miño. Among the great wealth of monuments in the old town centre is the cathedral-fortress of Santa María, a Romanesque and Gothic style building which houses the Cathedral Museum. Around it are narrow streets with arcades, dotted with temples of interest such as the convent of As Encerradas, the chapel of San Telmo (the only example of Portuguese Baroque in Galicia), the church of San Domingos and the convent of San Francisco.
Other cultural and tourist landmarks are the remains of the 12th century wall, built to defend the city, and the important heritage linked to the Jewish presence, in which buildings such as the house of Solomon and the courtyard of the synagogue and historical objects such as the sambenitos stand out. Special mention should be made of the international bridge over the river Minho, which is crossed by pilgrims on their way to Santiago on the Portuguese Way.
Vigo
Vigo's kilometre zero is located at Porta do Sol, where you'll also find an iconic element of the city: the sculpture of the Siren, erected on a double column 13 metres high. This is a good place to start a tour of the city's monuments, as from here we can enter the old quarter or begin a visit to Vigo's Ensanche, with its eclectic and stately architecture.
We will find suggestive spaces such as the street of Os Cesteiros and buildings such as the collegiate church and co-cathedral of Santa María and the pazos of Figueroa and Arines. From there we can easily reach the neighbourhood of O Berbés, with its characteristic houses with arcades that preserve the memory of its seafaring past. Another important point is A Pedra, one of the great tourist attractions of the city and a typical place for oyster tasting.
The Ensanche offers a walk through the architecture of stately Vigo, along the streets of O Príncipe, Urzáiz, Colón and Policarpo Sanz to the gardens of Areal street, very close to the port. As we pass by, we will come across historic buildings such as the Bonín building, the work of Jenaro de la Fuente, and the García Barbón Theatre.
Agolada Market
The town of Agolada has in its centre an old popular market from the 18th century that has survived to the present day with its original structure and buildings. The complex is made up of different stone constructions known as pendellos, a kind of sheds with large counters that housed the merchandise of the traders and around which people from different parts of the province gathered to buy livestock and other local products.
The enclosure still preserves some 70 sheds that were once used for different purposes in the service of the various fair activities: exhibitors, lodgings, dining rooms and stables. They are eminently practical constructions, without ornamentation, covered with wood and tile and erected using a technique of effective simplicity. They were on the verge of disappearing in the 1970s but were finally rebuilt and in 1985 were declared a Historic-Artistic Monument.
Access to the old market is free and you can stroll freely through its narrow streets. To visit the interior of the buildings, an appointment must be made in advance at Agolada Town Hall.