Free tour Santiago de Compostela: History, Art and Tradition

Do you want to travel to the past?

Santiago de Compostela, a city that was born in the sacred forest of Libredón and that ended up being a Holy City.

On this tour you will be able to discover the evolution of this city since its creation, from the discovery of the tomb of the Apostle Santiago to the present day.

Our visit will begin in the Plaza del Obradoiro because this is where our history begins.

In the surroundings of the small chapel that was erected to shelter the remains of the Apostle , a village was born that little by little grew until it reached, in the Middle Ages, what is today our historic center.

The passing of the centuries has left us hundreds of stories, some real and others not so real, that we are going to discover on our tour. We will answer questions:

• Has this Cathedral always been as we see it now?
• Why did the Catholic Monarchs decide one day to visit Compostela?
• “Sad and alone, Fonseca remains alone” but, who was Fonseca?
• What is a French-style palace doing in Plaza del Obradoiro?

Our journey continues through the other squares that surround the Cathedral:

Platerías Square:

Come on, but this facade of the Cathedral of Platerías looks like a puzzle! In our tour you will discover how it ended like this.

But it is not the only peculiar façade of this square, the Casa del Cabildo also has a very peculiar history.

Quintana Square:

A square full of mysteries... Here we have a door that only opens in the Jubilee Year, the Holy Door . There is also a convent with a legend, a mysterious shadow and even a campaign that, if we arrive on time, greets us from above: La Berenguela .

Plaza de la Azabachería:

San Martín Pinario is the second largest monastery in Spain after El Escorial. The great unknown of Compostela.

But Santiago is more than the surroundings of the Cathedral: the Plaza de Cervantes , the old Plaza del Campo, was for centuries the center of life in Compostela, here the market was held, justice was administered, witches were burned in times of the Inquisition…

And from here to the Abastos market and the Plaza de Mazarelos with the only door that exists today of the old wall that surrounded Compostela

Now we have to wander between the streets: from the Nova street to the Vilar street, and from here, to Franco to end our tour in the Alameda after greeting “the two Marías” and learning about their history.
If you are willing to take a trip back in time
Compostela awaits you!!