Santiago de Compostela Holidays and Santiago de Compostela Hotels:

If you are planning a holiday in Santiago de Compostela, the following information may help by giving you an overview of the city and the surrounding area.

Santiago de Compostela is the jewel in Galicia’s crown. It is north-west Spain’s most famous city and has World Heritage status, receiving hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. In the ninth century, a tomb thought to be that of the apostle St James was discovered there, and by the Middle Ages the city had become the third most important place in Christiandom.

During the Middle Ages, as many as two million visitors made their way here on foot each year, and in the twelfth century a monk named Aymery Picaud wrote the first guide book in the world in order to help them, describing in detail the best routes through France and Spain and the best places to stay. Today, both pilgrims and tourists still follow the ancient pilgrimage route across northern Spain to the towering cathedral, one of the most spectacular in the world.

Santiago Cathedral, with its distinctive twin spires, was built between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries on the site of a ninth-century basilica. Although there have been more recent additions, including the amazing Baroque facade, the interior remains as it was almost 800 years ago. Among its most notable features is the twelfth-century Portico de la Gloria with its three decorated arches. Christ, flanked by four apostles and eight angels, dominates the central arch, and St James stands directly below him on a column carved with the Tree of Jesse. The extremely ornate gilt and silver alter is also worth a look, and contrasts strongly with the dark simplicity of the rest of the interior.

The cathedral is not Santiago de Compostela’s only outstanding architectural gem. The old town has many Gothic, Neo-classical, Romanesque and Baroque buildings and nearly all are on a grand scale. The Rajoy Palace, for example, was built in the eighteenth century to house visiting dignitaries and pilgrims. Today it is the town hall and the Reyes Catolicos, next to the main facade of the cathedral, was commissioned by the Spanish king in the fifteenth century as a hostel and hospital for Santiago’s visiting pilgrims. It is now one of Spain’s state-run hotels.

Location of Santiago de Compostela:
Located in northern spain on the west side of Galicia [Spain's greenest region]

Serving Airports:
Santiago de Compostela [SCQ]
Flight time from the UK: approximately 2 hours and then 11km to Santiago de Compostela. Currently, flights are available from London Stansted

Santiago de Compostela Temperature Chart :

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Temp °C	8	8	11	12	14	17	19	19	18	15	11	9

Average daily temperature °C

Shopping in Santiago de Compostela:
There are 2 particular local crafts - jetware and silverware. The black jet stones are used for jewellery and amulets, while all kinds of silver goods are available to buy. The shops around the cathedral stock a good selection of these - many have some association with St James or local traditions. You can find ceramic tiles, lace, clogs and other artisans' goods in the craft shops of the Old Quarter. The department store El Corte Ingles is located in Rua do Restallal. In the arcades of Tras de Pilar, there are shops selling the work of the rising generation of young Galician fashion designers.

Eating out on your Santiago de Compostela Holiday:
The perfect place to discover Galician cuisine, which has a strong emphasis on seafood, among them (but not exclusively!) cod and octopus. Cheap local dishes are easy to find, but there are also more upmarket restaurants in the city. Good local wines are available and include Ribeiro and Albarino. Galician cuisine (cocina gallega) has a reputation for simplicity and excellence, with a strong emphasis on the quality of its raw materials over culinary technique.

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Disclaimer:
By its very nature much of the information in our destination guides is subject to change at short notice and travellers are urged to verify information on which they are relying with the relevant authorities. Corona Holidays [UK] Limited cannot accept any responsibility for any loss or inconvenience to any person as a result of information contained above.

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