Galicia or Galiza is a region in the northwest corner of Spain, part of "Green Spain". It's bordered by Asturias to the northeast, Castile and León to the east, and the Minho region of Portugal to the south. Its chief city is the pilgrimage destination of Santiago de Compostela; its coast is riddled by rías, long inlets of the sea.

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Map of Galicia

• 42.883333-8.5333331 Santiago de Compostela is a magnificent historic city and UNESCO World Heritage site, with the cathedral as its crown. It's the culmination of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, but you don't need to hike here clacking a scallop to appreciate it.
• 43.373857-8.4000272 A Coruña the largest city has the world's oldest functioning Roman lighthouse, the Tower of Hercules.
• 43.484-8.2333 Ferrol is a navy base across the ria north of A Coruña.
• 43.296272-7.678614 Vilalba has few antiquities but is a pilgrimage stopover.
• 43.537222-7.0430565 Ribadeo is the easternmost town along the Galician coast, a small resort where the river marks the border with Asturias.
• 43.011667-7.5572226 Lugo is enfolded by an intact Roman wall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• 43.133333-7.0666677 A Fonsagrada is a pilgrimage stop-over.
• 42.908611-9.2627788 Fisterra is better known as Finisterre, "land's end", with a restless Atlantic slapping against the boulders.
• 42.774444-9.05759 Muros is a relaxing beach resort.
• 42.495302-8.8640910 O Grove is a beach resort.
• 42.431-8.70711 Combarro on the coast has many hórreos: grain stores on stilts to keep out rats.
• 42.433611-8.647512 Pontevedra has several historic churches, and is the access point for the isle of Ons.
• 42.28821-8.1431313 Ribadavia has a dilapidated castle and an attractive old centre, with a 1000-year-old Jewish quarter.
• 42.337-7.86214 Ourense has an old quarter and medieval cathedral. A scenic drive goes down the river canyon to Ribadavia.
• 42.235833-8.72666715 Vigo is a large fishing port. Here Laurie Lee "walked out one midsummer morning" in 1934, to document a pre-war Spain that was rapidly disappearing.
• 42.119926-8.85008716 Baiona is a small resort and pilgrim stop-over. On 1 March 1493 this town was the first to hear of Columbus' crossing of the Atlantic, as the Pinta limped into port. There's a replica of the ship.
• 42.048056-8.64444417 Tui is a sleepy old town with a fortified cathedral looking across the Miño river to Valença in Portugal.

• Atlantic Islands of Galicia are a National Park (Parque Nacional de las Islas Atlánticas de Galicia) that includes the islands of Cíes in the Ría de Vigo, Ons off Pontevedra, Sálvora off Arousa, and Cortegada just offshore from Carril near Arousa.

Ancient Europe heaved and buckled and threw up mountains, tilting the northwest Iberian peninsula down into the growing Atlantic. About 8000 years ago came a marked rise in sea level as the last remnants of the Ice Age melted, and this flooded river valleys along the Galician coast. The result was a series of rías, broad sea channels probing inland. Rías Baixas (lower rivers) is the term for the four along the west coast: those of Vigo, Pontevedra, Arousa and Muros e Noia. (River Minho south on the border with Portugal geologically is not a ría.) Rías Altas are those facing the Bay of Biscay.

Their shores were obvious places for human habitation, with fishing, channel crossing points, trading routes inland up the valleys, and oak forests on the slopes. Stone Age people were replaced by Celts around the dawn of the Iron Age, 1000 BC, who in turn came under the Roman Empire from 25 BC. But this far from Rome, and with not much worth looting, "Romanisation" here was weak and Celtic culture persisted.

When Roman power ebbed in the 5th century AD, Galicia was settled by Germanic peoples pushed from further east - the Swabians then the Visigoths. The Umayyad Muslims occupied much of Spain in the 8th century but Galicia (like Asturias and Cantabria) was too far north. As Umayyad control was slowly pushed back, Christianity was the unifying crusade for the petty kingdoms of Spain that would otherwise fight each other. There was a spate of church building, and Santiago became a pilgrimage destination thanks to a fantastical (but lucrative) tale that the body of St James the Apostle had somehow wafted its way there.

In 1486 the kingdom of Galicia was annexed to Castile, which along with León, Rioja and Navarre grew into the nucleus of present-day Spain. Thus began 500 years of grousing about loss of autonomy. Galicia had fishing and some Atlantic commerce but lacked mineral wealth and never attracted much industry. Power and patronage drained away to Madrid, and the fabulous wealth of the transatlantic trades in slaves, sugar, gold and silver went straight to metropolitan nobility, who blew it on bling palaces there.

In 1939 a determined young army officer from Ferrol seized power and made Spain a unified but socially reactionary country, though he always tried to promote Galician business interests, and the revival of the pilgrimage to Santiago. He had a great long flowery name but is best known as General Franco. Only after his death in 1975 did Spain modernise. Santiago has been the main beneficiary, and can feel over-touristy at times. The rest of this region is well-developed for visitors but it's easy to get off the tourist track, into quiet villages, rugged wave-dashed headlands and lonely mountains.

Spain is divided into provinces: those within Galicia are A Coruña, Lugo, Ourense and Pontevedra. These are not described as such on these pages, look under their main city then zoom out to the other towns. It is worth travelling some distance to avoid hearing a Galician expound on the distinction between its 137 concellos, 53 comarcas or bisbarras, and innumerable parroquias (parishes) further divided into lugares or settlements.

Galician or Galego is the official language. It diverged from Portuguese around the 13th century and is much closer to that language than to Spanish. Everyone also understands Castilian Spanish, which is the national language and the version that most foreigners learn.

Young people study English at school, and many in the hospitality sector speak English.

Trains and buses ply between the major towns.

Many sights are at some distance from a public transport route, so you probably need to hire a car, best done at your arrival airport.

• Old town centres: Santiago is the standout.
• Rugged coasts: Fisterra literally means "end of the world".
• Hórreos are the signature feature of Galicia and adjoining parts of Portugal: they're grain stores on stone stilts to keep out rats. Combarro has a huge example, you wouldn't want to meet the rat it was designed against.
• UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves in Galicia are:
  • Terras de Miño
  • Área de Allariz
  • Os Ancares Lucenses y Montes de Cervantes, Navya y Becerra
  • Rio Eo, Oscos y Terras de Buron
  • Geres/Xures
  • Mariñas Coruñesas e Terras do Mandeo
  • Ribeira Sacra e Serras do Oribio e Courel Biosphere Reserve

• Fiestas: the major Christian festivals are marked by church and secular processions and events. Entroido is the Galician version of Carnival or Mardi Gras, the party before the onset of Lent.
• Camino de Santiago is the collective name for the pilgrimage routes converging on Santiago de Compostela. Historically these began as far away as Germany or England, but fell out of use with the advent of Lutheranism and anti-clerical periods in France and Spain. They revived in the 20th century, and the best-preserved is the "French Way", 770 km from St Jean Pied de Port in the French Basque country. But the church nowadays rules that 100 km (taking 4-5 days) is enough to qualify you as a pilgrim. So if you draw a 100 km diameter circle around Santiago, all those towns are start points.
• Football: there are pro soccer teams in Vigo, Santiago, A Coruna and Ferrol.

Local specialties might make full meals, or be served as raciones or tapas:

• Marisco meaning seafood includes mussels, "centollo" (spider crab), "nécoras" (crab) and "percebes" (barnacles).
• Almeixas a Mariñeira are clams prepared with wine, olive oil and "pimentón" - paprika.
• Empanada is something between a pizza and a meatcake. Fillings might be tuna, beef or octopus.
• Polbo á feira is octopus prepared with oil, salt and hot paprika.
• Caldo galego is the warming "poor man's stew" from Galicia.
• Bacallau ao alvariño is salted cod.
• Pimientos de Padrón are green chili peppers, picked early so that only a few in each batch are spicy. Eat them sautéed with salt.
• Raxo are stewed meat pieces, often of pork loin stewed with onions or red pepper or in cream.
• Desserts include churros (waffles), tarta de Santiago (an almond cake with the Galician Cross drawn on the icing) and filloas, crepes filled with sugar or custard cream.

Wine: Galician wines are mostly crisp and white like Portuguese, for example Albariño, Ribeiro and Godello. But don't overlook the local reds.

Aguardiente - literally "fire-water" - is the local version of grappa or marc, distilled from grape residue after the first pressing has been drained off to make wine. Take it neat or in mixes such as Licor Café. Queimada (meaning burnt) is aguardiente, coffee beans, lemon rinds, and sugar mixed then set on fire. Traditionally the host or bar-keeper recites a spell that wards off any evil spirits who happen to understand Galician, but it does nothing to prevent gastric concussion.

Estrella Galicia is the local beer, brewed in A Coruña (tours available). Lots of other European brands available, including Guinness of course.

Santiago has the widest selection of accommodation in all price categories.

Paradors are the national chain of upmarket hotels, often in historic buildings.

Albergues are budget hostels for pilgrims along the Camino, but other travellers can use them. This compensates for the lack of campsites.

Beware traffic, safeguard valuables and stay clear of drunks and low-life, same as anywhere else.

• Asturias is the coastal region northeast. Oviedo is its chief city.
• Castile and León lie over the mountains to the east. Astorga and León are the centres you reach first.
• Minho is the region of Portugal bordering Galicia. Braga, Guimarães and Porto are the top sights.