Pontevedra

Pontevedra is a 82,802 inhabitants city at the mouth of river Lérez and capital city of the province of Pontevedra and of the Rías Baixas, in the western part of Galicia, (Spain). Since 1999 all its center is pedestrianised and banned all but the essential automobile traffic. This has meant being awarded with several prizes for its accesibility. It's also an important stopover in the Portuguese Way of the Camino de Santiago and is the second city in Galicia for its rich heritage.

How do I arrive to Pontevedra?

  Pontevedra is quite well connected with other places in the region in many ways. 

• Train: the routes in Galicia link Pontevedra with Padrón (aprox. 30 minutes), Santiago de Compostela (aprox. 40 minutes), A Coruña (aprox. 1 hour 10 minutes) and Vigo (aprox. 20 minutes) every hour.
• Bus: Pontevedra has frequent connections with most of the cities of Galicia by Pontevedra Bus Station. It also has connections with other Spanish cities like Madrid or Barcelona and with Portugal, in particular with Braga (2 daily buses, aprox. 2 hours 20 minutes) and Porto (3 daily buses, aprox. 3 hours).
• Car: if you rented a car, it's 15 minutes from Combarro, 30 minutes from Vigo, Cambados and Padrón, 45 minutes from Tui, 1 hour far from Santiago de Compostela and 1 hour 30 minutes from A Coruña.

History

According to the legend Pontevedra was founded by Teucer, hero of the Trojan War but historians and archaeologists agree that it was founded under Roman control, around 1 BC. In the Suebic period it was an intermediate town. From the 12th century onwards Pontevedra rose as an important trade center, being the main urban center in Galicia. One of the reasons of this grow is because Pontevedra is part of the Way of St. James. The carrack Santa María which reached America with Columbus was built here. From the 16th century onwards the city suffer a decline because its river stopped being useful for large-scale navigation till the 19th century, when it became an adminnistrative center and province capital. Pontevedra started the 20th century as the cultural and political center of Galicia. After Francoist dictatorship the city started a period of progression, gaining population and becoming the accesible and pedestrian-friendly it is today.    

What can I visit in Pontevedra?

Pontevedra is an excellent place to have a walk and it has been awarded with several prices for its accesibility. Pontevedra Old Town streets are all pedestrian walkways and wonderful squares like praza da Leña, praza da Verdura, praza Méndez Núñez, praza da Ferrería or praza das Cinco Rúas, where ending up in a terrace having a drink or discovering its old churches.

These are Pontevedra's main attractions:

• Basilica of St. María a Maior (10-13:30 and 17-21; free): the oldest church in Pontevedra was founded more than 1,000 years ago but the current building dates back to the 16th century, with Plateresque style architecture. It has a tiny museum with relics of its parish and from its tower there's a panoramic view of the city (museum and tower for 1€).
• Chapel das Aparicións (9-13 and 17:30-20; free): chapel where an apparition occured to sor Lucía in December the 10th of 1925 and the following one, just before Fátima one.
• Pazo Mugartegui: 17th century Baroque mansion typically Galician, called pazo. Currently it houses the Regulatory Authority of the Rías Baixas Protected Geographical Variety of wine.
• Pontevedra Museum (10-21 Tue-Sat; 11-14 Sun; free): museum which shows the history of Pontevedra province and the city, plus its art. It's divided into six buildings, whose most important ones are Sarmiento and Sexto Buildings (where there are archaelogical expositions and paintings) and the Ruins of San Domingo (14th century convent ruins).
• St. Bartolomeu Church (9:30-13:30 and 16-21 Mon-Sat; 10-14 and 19-21 Sun; free): 17th century church in Italian Baroque style. It formerly belonged to the Order of the Jesuits and contains a beautiful sculpture of Mary Magdalene by Gregorio Fernández.
• Convent of St. Clara (closed): 16th century church with a polygonal apse and exuberant Baroque altars.
• St. Francisco Church (7:30-12:45 and 17-20:30 Mon-Fri; 7:30-13:45 Sat-Sun; free): 14th century church with interesting medieval tombs and murals from the 16th and 17th centuries.
• Sanctuary of A Virxe da Peregrina (8:30-14 and 17-20:30; free): church built in 1778 in late Baroque style with Neoclassic altars. Its shape is of a scallop shell and has a curved façade.
• CITA (10-14 Tue-Thu and Sun; 10-14 and 17-21 Fri-Sat; 2€/ 1€  adults/ reduced): museum which gives an insight the village of Lérez and its castle. It also shares the medieval history of Pontevedra.
• Alameda Park: 19th century park where having a nice walk, designed by Alejandro Sesmero.
• Going 25 km north from Pontevedra, in Campo Lameiro, it can be found Cave Art Archaelogical Park (11-21 Tue-Sun from Jun to Aug; 10-19 Tue-Sun from Sep to Oct and from Mar to May; 10-16 Tue-Sun from Nov to Feb; 4.50€ /2.70€ /free  adults/ retiree and students/ kids under 6). It's a park with a 4 km nice path that allows to discover the petroglyphes found in this area. It also has an interpretation center that explains its origin, content and possible meanings.

Mugartegui Mansion

Sanctuary of A Virxe da Peregrina

View of Combarro from O Padrón

Just 7 km far from Pontevedra there's Combarro, a 1,768 inhabitants parish of the municipality of Poio (Poyo in Spanish) that was declared BIC (Bien de Interés Cultural) for having a lot of very well preserved cruceiros and hórreos. Its most beautiful cruceiros are the following ones: Cruceiro de la praza de San Roque, Cruceiro de la igrexa de San Roque and Cruceira da Rúa. In Combarro it's recommended walking all over its streets enjoying its many fishing houses, particulary rúa do Mar, rúa de San Roque, praza de San Roque or praza da Fonte. One of the best views of Combarro can be got from O Padrón, where it's also possible to see shellfish catchers working when it's low tide. It's an excellent trip that enables to descover how life used to be in this region in the past.

Massó Museum

Only 20 km from Pontevedra, in Morrazo peninsula, there's the municipality of Bueu, a 12,148 inhabitants town with an important fishing background, as it can be seen at Massó Museum (10-21 Tue-Sat and 10-14 Sun; free), museum dedicated to sealife in the region with many objects, photos and mock-ups. Bueu has nice beaches like Portomaior beach and Agrelo beach. Outside the town, in the direction of Cape Udra, there are several nice beaches such as Ancoradouro beach, the large Mourisca beach, Lagos beach or Area de Bon beach. It has Cape Udra Nature Classroom (10-19 Fri, 11-20:30 Sat-Sun from Jul to Oct), that helps to understand the nature here. In the end of Morrazo peninsula there's Cape Home, a cape that provides excellent views of Cíes Islands and that has with beautiful beaches like Areabravas Beach.

Where can I eat in Pontevedra?

The recommendations in Pontevedra if you don't want to spend much money are buying food at Mercado de Abastos (rúa Serra 5) and cooking on your own or some places to eat like the bar Parvadas (rúa González Zúñiga 4), cider bar Montañés (rúa González Zúñiga 6), the Galician restaurant Chiruca (rúa Figueroa 17), tapas bar Os Carballos (praza da Verdura 11). In case your budget higher some choices are bar Los Olmos (rúa Serra 28), the angler fish restaurant O Cruceiro (rúa do Cruceiro 17), wine bar Envero (rúa Laranxo 21) or the restaurant Eirado da Leña (praza da Leña 3).
Pontevedra is an excellent place to have a drink out, particulary thanks to the fact that all its Old Town is pedestrian zone. Around praza da Leña, praza da Verdura, praza Méndez Núñez or praza do Teucro there are several places such as the pub Sopa de Gallo (rúa Dona Tareixa 2) or Ànimas (enfesta de San Telmo 6).

Posted in: Europe,Galicia,Spain