Overview

Galicia is an autonomous community in Spain and Santiago de Compostela is the capital of this. It is a well-known heritage site. It was designated as the European city of culture in 1998. The 9th century medieval pilgrimage route’s final destination is the Cathedral in Santiago. Thousands of pilgrims travel through this route by bike, foot or horse with Santiago as their final goal. The students in the university add fun and vitality.

Climate

The climate in Santiago is temperate and pleasant; the maximum and minimum temperatures during the year are 20 °C and 5 °C.

History

This city was founded initially in the 400s by Suebi when the Roman Empire collapsed. Arabs raided this city during the period 711-739. In 800, the remains of Saint James the Great were identified and from this time onwards this city was considered as the Holy city. This city was captured by the French when the Napoleonic War occurred.

Cultural Heritage

Santiago’s buildings are monuments and you will find them stunning. The historic center has churches, palaces, monuments, etc. and you should not miss these places. Historic center consists of squares, small streets and granite buildings depicting the history for hundreds of years. The Cathedral is the best monument that you should see.

Cuisine

There are a number of taverns, restaurants and bars in Santiago and they cater food at prices that suit various budgets. Popular regional products are fish, beef and seafood. If you are interested in meat items, you can get them in the city outskirts wherein you can get chorizo sausage, flame-grilled meats, barbecued steaks and T-bone steaks.

Sports and Entertainment

Santiago has a large number of parks and some of them are Alameda Park, Santo Domingo de Bonaval, Santa Susana oak wood and Belvís Parks.

There are a number of woods and valleys that facilitate hiking and other sport activities. In addition, there are a number of beaches where a tourist can enjoy spending time. Golf courses are available for practicing Golf.

You can also spend your time by practicing fishing, water sports and adventure sports. Some of these things are – canyoning, canoeing, kite-surfing, scuba diving, etc.

Students, tourists and pilgrims make the nightlife lively in Santiago. The students make this happen from Thursday onwards.

Children will enjoy the ride in Tourist train and tourist flights. Exploring the historic center can be done either with the help of tourist guides or with mp3 audio guide. Parks and gardens are galore and children can make use of them.

Galicia Pedagogic Museum and the Natural History Museum are enjoyable for children.

Shopping

The prime areas for shopping in Santiago are – Ensanche area and the historic center. Mercado de Abastos is a big market where you can get Galician products. The popular shopping items are crafts and jewelry items, items that have brand value, boutiques, traditional items, etc.

Business

Santiago has its own culture and tradition and is well suited for organizing congress, seminars, etc. it adds spice to the business events. It has a popular historic center and also monuments. It also happens to be the last place in the cultural route of heritage destinations. This gives an opportunity to combine business meeting with heritage tour. Santiago also has sea and beaches for entertainment of business tourists.