Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela, alternatively abbreviated to Santiago or Compostela, is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.
Santiago de Compostela, alternatively abbreviated to Santiago or Compostela, is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It is located in the province of A Coruña, in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St. James, a leading Catholic pilgrimage route since the 9th century. In 1985, the city's Old Town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Santiago de Compostela
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
The Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica is part of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela and is an integral component of the Santiago de Compostela World Heritage Site in Galicia, Spain. The cathedral is the reputed burial place of Saint James the Great, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ.
300 m · Roman Catholic cathedral of the archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain · Wikipedia - 02Estadio Multiusos de San Lázaro
Estadio Municipal Verónica Boquete de San Lázaro, formerly called Estadio Multiusos de San Lázaro, is a multipurpose stadium in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. It is used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of SD Compostela.
2.4 km · football stadium · Wikipedia - 03University of Santiago de Compostela
The University of Santiago de Compostela - USC is a public university located in the city of Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain. A second campus is located in Lugo, Galicia.
1.2 km · university in Spain · Wikipedia - 04Glory's Portico
The Portico of Glory of Santiago de Compostela Cathedral is a Romanesque portico and the cathedral's main gate created by Master Mateo and his workshop, on the orders of King Ferdinand II of León. The king donated to Mateo one hundred maravedís annually between 1168 and 1188.
300 m · Romanesque portico and the main gate of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, created by Master Mateo and his workshop · Wikipedia - 05Botafumeiro
The Botafumeiro is a famous thurible used at the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, in Spain. Its name comes from the Galician language, where botar means "to eject, to throw away, to expel", and the Latin fume, meaning "smoke".
300 m · thurible in Santiago de Compostela Cathedral · Wikipedia - 06Monte do Gozo
Monte do Gozo is a hill in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain. It is known for being the place where Christian pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago (Way of St.
4.3 km · mountain near Santiago de Compostela (Spain) · Wikipedia - 07Castle da Rocha Forte
The Rocha Forte Castle is a ruined fort near Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia, Spain. It was first mentioned in written documents from 1253, but it had probably been built earlier.
3 km · ruined fort in Galicia, Spain · Wikipedia - 08Pabellón Multiusos Fontes do Sar
Pavillón Multiusos Fontes do Sar is a multi-purpose sports arena in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain. It is owned and operated by Santiago de Compostela city council.
1.1 km · multi-purpose sports arena in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain · Wikipedia - 09Plaza del Obradoiro
The Praza do Obradoiro is main square of the Santiago de Compostela old town, although not placed at the real centre. It lies to the West of the main façade of the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, and thus the Pórtico da Gloria must be crossed to get into the building from the square.
300 m · square in Santiago di Compostela · Wikipedia - 10Palacio de Rajoy
The Palace of Raxoi is a neoclassical building located in the Obradoiro square in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain. Completed in 1772 by French architect Carlos Lemaur, it houses the city hall and the presidency of the Regional Government of Galicia.
300 m · building in Santiago de Compostela · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
- 01Catedral de Santiago de Compostela
Massive cathedral built from 1075 but only consecrated in 1211.
- 02Monasterio de San Martiño Pinario
Praza da Inmaculada 5 (50 m north of cathedral),.
- 03Museum of the Cathedral of Santiago
- 04Museum of Pilgrimages and Santiago
From Wikivoyage: Santiago de Compostela, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
Pilgrim Reception Office (Centro Internacional de Acollida ó Peregrino), 33 Rúa das Carretas (100 yards north of cathedral plaza),. Daily 10:00-18:00. Get your pilgrim's certificate for completing El Camino de Santiago. Pilgrim House, Rua Nova 19 (100 m south of Plaza de Quintana),. Apr-Oct Mon Tue Thu-Sat 11:00-20:00. Offers support and resources to pilgrims who have just finished the Camino.
From Wikivoyage: Santiago de Compostela, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
The city goes strong on seafood, especially pulpo, octopus. Local cheese and cakes are worth seeking out. Tapas are served everywhere. "Pimientos de padrón" are part spicy, part not, so practise saying "Os pementos de Padrón, uns pican e outros non". The main eating strip is along the two alleys south of the cathedral, Rúa da Raíña and Rúa do Franco.
- 01Restaurante Tarará
Rúa das Carretas 22 basement,.
- 02Mamá Peixe Taberna
Grand little place for seafood, better book.
- 03Restaurante Petiscos
Especially good value is the lunchtime menu del día, with vegan and GF choices.
- 04Taberna O Gato Negro
Slick unpretentious place for trad Spanish cuisine.
- 05A Noiesa
Mesón 42 at Franco 42 has tapas with big portions.
From Wikivoyage: Santiago de Compostela, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Santiago de Compostela
- Airports
- Santiago-Rosalía de Castro (SCQ), 11 km · Francisco de Sá Carneiro (OPO), 182 km · Asturias (OVD), 217 km
- Stations
- Santiago de Compostela railway station, 800 m
- Ranón → Santiago de Compostela215 km · quickest by road, 3h 28m · €28–39
- Bilbao → Santiago de Compostela458 km · quickest by air, 3h 49m · €100–150
- Madrid → Santiago de Compostela487 km · quickest by air, 4h 7m · €120–180
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Santiago de Compostela
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Santiago de Compostela. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get inOne heroic bus traverses the country north-south, from A Coruña via Santiago to Pontevedra, Vigo, Ourense, Zamora, Salamanca, Bejar, Plasencia, Caceres, Merida, Zafra, Seville, Jerez, Cadiz, Tarifa and Algeciras, for ferries to Morocco.
From Wikivoyage: Santiago de Compostela, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.
- 01902 km
- 02968 km
- 031,028 km
- 041,143 km
- 051,337 km
If you know how people move in Santiago de Compostela – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to Santiago de Compostela
- Parliament of Galiciaunicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain500 m
- O Milladoirohuman settlement in Ames, A Coruña, Santiago, Spain4.8 km