Santiago de Compostela lies in the heart of Galicia, surrounded by green rolling hills. For over six hundred years it has been the object of religious pilgrimage, as important to the Christians of the Middle Ages as Rome or Jerusalem. The pilgrims still come to visit the shrine of the Apostle James the Great whose tomb was ‘discovered’ in the early 9th century. The magnificent granite Cathedral is the centre of pilgrimage, but Santiago is also a lively town. Its narrow flagstoned streets are lined with the small urban manor houses found in Galicia, and numerous Romanesque and Baroque churches.

Itinerary

Day 1 – Fly to Santiago de Compostela and transfer to the hotel. The rest of the day is free for independent exploration..

Day 2 – Today there is a tour of Santiago including the Church of San Francisco, La Plaza del Obradoiro and the Cathedral of Santiago dating from c1075. Over the centuries many modifications have been made to the Cathedral, including the portico de la Gloria, with its magnificent Mediaeval sculpture by Master Mateo, which was added to the west front in 1188.  We also visit the Palacio Gelmirez, the oldest building in the Plaza del Obradoiro (12th - 13th centuries), built as the Archibishop’s residence, and Santa Maria la Real de Sar, a collegiate church of Romanesque origin with fine cloisters. The tour will end mid-afternoon leaving enough time for some independent exploration.

Day 3 –We depart on a full-day excursion “The Footsteps of St James”, Unesco’s first cultural itinerary and covers the last part of the legendary Pilgrim Way. We drive through Arzua to Melide, with its Romanesque church and stone cross, claimed to be the oldest in Galicia. We then pass through Palas de Rei to Vilar de Donas where we see the Romanesque, former monastery church of San Salvador. We continue to Lugo, the Roman Lucus Augusti, which still has over two kilometres of the original Roman city wall. While there we visit the 12-century Cathedral. Our final visit takes us to Sobrado to visit the Monastery, after which we return to Santiago.

Day 4 – Transfer to the airport for the return flight.

Santiago de Compostela Cultural Tour
Price: £395 per person
Single Supplement: £125
Deposit: £200 per person

Santiago de Compostela Cultural Tour

Price Includes:  3 nights bed and breakfast accommodation in 4-star Hotel San Francisco in Santiago de Compostela, one full day and one half day tour with an expert guide..

Travel: Travel to Santiago de Compostela is not included.  We can either book your flights for you or recommend suitable flights. All flights booked by us must be paid for at the time of booking.

Suggested Ryanairscheduled flight timings. At present, no other airline flies directly to Santiago de Compostela