What to see and do in Santiago

[walker]

I enjoyed Santiago and found lots to do there. I pre-booked my train to Madrid and walked faster than anticipated, so had extra days in Santiago in 2004. It was a holy year, so there were many art exhibits, concerts, etc. I love the restaurant Casa Manolo. The little roasted peppers sprinkled with sea salt are fantastic. There is a shopping mall within walking distance if you need to replenish your wardrobe. There is a city park just past the busy shopping streets. The tourist office is very helpful. Staying up late was a treat since I didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn to walk. The outdoor caf?s were friendly places filled with pilgrims I had met along the way. The movie theater was showing Three on the Camino. The free meal at the parador was a trip. You take a copy of your compostella to the garage at the correct time and the first ten people to show up are led through the luxurious lobby to the kitchen cafeteria and a small dining area set aside for pilgrims.

[Leslie]

Hey walker, I was there in 2004 also, arrived in Santiago in the rain...August as well.

This is crazy, but for the last week of walking last time I really, really, really wanted a Burger.

So four of us wandered into the tourist info and asked for the nearest Burger King! They burst out laughing at us. And normally at home I would only eat there when driving long distances - I just had it in my head for a week - go figure.

[walker]

Leslie,
When you need protein, you need protein.
S.

[murphydog201]

What did the Parador serve? I forgot about that until just before I was leaving.

My first free day in Santiago was a restless one. I didn't know what to do with myself after a month of following arrows. I couldn't sit still and felt aimless. By the next day I relaxed and went souvenir shopping, wandered around the city, hung out with Camino friends, etc.. I still wasn't motivated to do real sightseeing though.

[walker]

The free meal consisted of fruit, bread, soup, red wine, probably some kind of meat and veggies, and the ubiquitous flan or some such dessert. Served school lunchroom style on a tray (actually on dishes, not slopped onto the tray like some schools do now) that we carried to the pilgrims' dining area.

[geraldkelly]

One very interesting thing you can do in Santiago is the guided-tour of the cathedral roof. It costs ?10 and there are 2 a day at 5 and 6 pm (I think). Enquiries and bookings in the cathedral reception which is just to the left of the entrance on Plaza Obradoiro.

Commentary only in Spanish but even if you don't understand anything it's still interesting to see the cathedral from above.

Gerald

[John Hussey]

The free meal consisted of fruit, bread, soup, red wine, probably some kind of meat and veggies, and the ubiquitous flan or some such dessert. Served school lunchroom style on a tray (actually on dishes, not slopped onto the tray like some schools do now) that we carried to the pilgrims' dining area.

The Parador offers it three times a day, at each meal, for the first 10 pilgrims or so that appear. But they are not so ridgid on the number as I recall I was once the 12th person to be served for breakfast. And quite a god one it was, too. Afterwards, the route to Finisterre is just outside the front door of the Parador (De Los Reyes Catolicos). Walk down the front stairs at the entrance, turn right, go a few steps and down some more steps and viola, you are immediately on the Camino to Finisterre and Muxia, just keep walking straight ahead.

An interesting bit of history is the explanation why the Parador does it. It seems that when they asked the Church for the right to renovate the old property into a Parador, it was the Church that made it as one of the conditions, that they serve the first 10 pilgrims a free meal at each meal. I guess they were all to happy to agree. I vaguely recall that the Chutrch did this because the property to be renovated was once a "hospital" or, old pilgrim 'albergue' and i guess they wished to continue at least part of the tradition.