Santiago de Compostela is where every Camino ends: a granite old town on a low hill, built around the cathedral that has drawn pilgrims to the tomb of Saint James since the Middle Ages, and now shared by a university city that keeps it lively after the walkers go to bed. Its streets are compact enough to cross in twenty minutes, and the main sights cluster around four squares at the cathedral's sides.
This page covers the free cathedral visit and the two timed tours that need booking, the Pórtico da Gloria and the rooftops, then the Obradoiro square, the view from the Alameda park, the market, tarta de Santiago, the monastery of San Martiño Pinario, the Galician People's Museum, the City of Culture and the fiestas of late July, plus the last 100 km of the Camino itself. Each entry has the hours, prices and booking rules checked in October 2026, including the cathedral changes that started that month.
Visit Santiago Cathedral for free and see the Apostle's tomb
Catedral de Santiago (entrance by the Puerta de Platerías)
1 hourFree
Climb the narrow stair behind the high altar to embrace Saint James, then go down to the silver urn in the crypt, all for free.
What it is
The pilgrims' ritual is to climb the narrow stair behind the high altar and embrace the statue of Saint James in its Baroque camarín, then go down to the crypt under the altar, where a silver urn holds the relics venerated as the Apostle's.
How to do it
The cathedral itself costs nothing to enter: it opens every day from 7:00 to 21:00, through the Puerta de Platerías on the south side, and in summer closes at 20:30 on Saturdays for the pilgrims' vigil. Backpacks are not allowed and there are no visits during services.
Good to know
Two changes since October 2026: the botafumeiro, the giant censer swung across the transept, is out of service for restoration, and works on the main chapel moved the Pilgrim's Masses to the church of San Agustín from 16 October until further notice, so ask at the door whether the stair behind the altar is open.
Time needed
1 hour
Best time
Soon after the 7:00 opening, before the tour groups
Pórtico da Gloria, Catedral de Santiago (tickets at the Museo Catedral, Praza do Obradoiro)
30 minutes to 1 hourTimed entry
Master Mateo's Romanesque entrance, with 24 elders holding medieval instruments, hidden behind the Baroque facade and seen on a timed ticket.
What it is
Behind the Baroque Obradoiro facade hides the cathedral's original Romanesque entrance, the Pórtico da Gloria, carved by Master Mateo and his workshop between 1168 and 1188; the lintels were set in place on 1 April 1188, a date cut into the stone. Above the central arch sit the 24 elders of the Apocalypse, each holding a medieval musical instrument, and at the foot of the central column kneels the figure known as the Santo dos Croques, named after the old custom of knocking heads with it for a share of his wisdom. A restoration funded by the Fundación Barrié from 2008 to 2018 dealt with damp and brought back paint hidden under centuries of dirt.
How to do it
To protect it, the Pórtico is seen only on a timed ticket from visitas.catedraldesantiago.es.
Good to know
Be at the door at the time printed on your QR ticket, with no bag larger than 40 by 40 cm.
Time needed
30 minutes to 1 hour
Best time
Book a few days ahead in summer and arrive on time
Walk the cathedral rooftops and climb the Torre de la Carraca
Cubiertas and Torre de la Carraca, Catedral de Santiago
About 1 hourTimed entry
Walk across the cathedral's stepped granite roofs and up a tower about 72 metres high, with all four squares below you.
What it is
The cathedral's stepped granite roofs, the cubiertas, are open on a guided tour that takes you across them and up the Torre de la Carraca, about 72 metres high, for a view down into all four squares around the basilica and out over the old town's tiled roofs to the hills. Up here you see the towers of the Obradoiro facade, the bell tower and the domes at close range, on stone roofs renovated in recent years, with the old town spread out below.
How to do it
The tour is guided, lasts about an hour and runs at set times, so book it on the cathedral's official site, visitas.catedraldesantiago.es, and arrive punctually: access is only at the time printed on your ticket.
Good to know
A May 2026 guide put the general ticket at €15 and the reduced one, for students, accredited pilgrims, over-65s and others, at €12; check the booking page for the current price.
Time needed
About 1 hour
Best time
A clear afternoon; avoid wet days, when the granite is slippery
Stand at the end of the Camino in the Praza do Obradoiro
Praza do Obradoiro
30 minutesFree
Sit on the granite at kilometre zero of every road to Santiago, where pilgrims finish, packs off, staring at the cathedral facade.
What it is
The great square in front of the cathedral is where pilgrims finish: the centre of the Praza do Obradoiro counts as kilometre zero of every road to Santiago, and on a summer afternoon walkers sit or lie on the granite, packs off, staring at the facade. Four buildings frame it: the cathedral to the east, with the Gelmírez palace beside it; the Pazo de Raxoi to the west, built for the cathedral's canons and now the city hall; the Hostal dos Reis Católicos to the north, a Plateresque masterpiece that once sheltered pilgrims; and the Colexio de San Xerome to the south, a former pilgrims' hospital that now houses the university rectorate.
How to do it
The Obradoiro is a public square, free and open at any hour, so you can come back late when the crowds thin.
Good to know
Its name comes from the obradoiro, the stonemasons' workshop that worked behind the cathedral while it was built.
Time needed
30 minutes
Best time
Late afternoon, when the facade catches the sun and pilgrims arrive
Watch the cathedral at sunset from the Alameda park
Parque da Alameda (Paseo da Ferradura)
1 hourFree
The classic view of the cathedral's west facade at sunset, from a horseshoe walk lined with horse chestnuts and an old oak wood.
What it is
Just west of the old town, the Alameda has been the city's favourite place for a stroll since the 19th century, and its position gives it the classic view of the cathedral's west facade. It has three parts: the Paseo da Alameda; the Carballeira de Santa Susana, a wood of more than 300 old oaks around the small church of Santa Susana, first built in the 12th century for the saint's relics; and the Paseo da Ferradura, a horseshoe-shaped walk lined with horse chestnuts that looks across to the towers.
How to do it
In the park you will pass As Dúas Marías, César Lombera's brightly painted statue of the Fandiño sisters, Maruxa and Coralia, who walked through the old town every day at two in the afternoon, dressed in bright colours, through the Franco years, and became local icons.
Good to know
The park is free and lit at night; come in the last hour of light.
Time needed
1 hour
Best time
Late afternoon, when the low sun lights the west facade
Granite naves modelled on Galician Romanesque, full of seafood stalls, and a bar that will cook the shellfish you bring it.
What it is
Santiago's food market is worth a visit for the setting as much as for the fish. The present building, designed by the architect Joaquín Vaquero Palacios in 1937 and finished in 1941, is a granite complex of eight naves modelled on Galician Romanesque buildings, in the same stone as the town around it. Inside are stalls of Galician seafood, meat, cheese and vegetables, and a row of bars and small restaurants, one of which will cook the shellfish you bring it; they serve meals until 17:00 from Monday to Saturday.
How to do it
The market is a short walk from the cathedral, on Rúa das Ameas.
Good to know
The market itself opens Monday to Saturday from 8:00 to 14:00, so come early, when the stalls are fullest.
Time needed
1 to 2 hours
Best time
Early morning, Monday to Saturday; it is closed on Sundays
Almonds, sugar and egg with no flour, under a cross of Saint James stencilled in icing sugar, in the city where it was born.
What it is
Galicia's almond cake is simple and strict: ground almonds and sugar in equal weight, bound with egg, and no flour at all, except in the thin pastry base some bakers put underneath. The first mention of a 'torta real' comes from a visit to the University of Santiago in 1577, and reliable recipes date from 1838. The cross of Saint James stencilled in icing sugar on top is newer than it looks: the Santiago pastry shop Casa Mora began decorating its almond cakes that way in 1924, and everyone copied it.
How to do it
Buy a slice in any old-town pastry shop, or a whole cake to carry home: it keeps well and travels flat.
Good to know
Since 3 March 2006 the name is a Protected Geographical Indication, so a cake sold as Tarta de Santiago must follow the recipe.
Step into the Baroque monastery of San Martiño Pinario
Mosteiro de San Martiño Pinario (Praza da Inmaculada)
1 hourNo booking needed
Step into a vast Benedictine monastery across from the cathedral for transept altarpieces by the architect of the Obradoiro facade.
What it is
Across the square from the cathedral's north side stands the vast Benedictine monastery of San Martiño Pinario, founded in the 10th century and rebuilt between the 16th and 18th centuries over about 2.2 hectares. Its church, finished in 1652, has a facade designed like an altarpiece, and inside are some of the finest Baroque pieces in Galicia: the three transept altarpieces by Fernando de Casas Novoa, the architect of the Obradoiro facade, and the choir stalls carved by Mateo de Prado between 1639 and 1647.
How to do it
Entry costs €5, or is free with any Cathedral Museum ticket; it opens Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 14:00 and 16:00 to 19:00, entered from Praza da Inmaculada.
Good to know
The building is still a seminary, and since January 2026 part of it has been the Museo Diocesano, with a printing press, an old pharmacy and a natural history cabinet.
Time needed
1 hour
Best time
Tuesday to Saturday; keep your cathedral museum ticket for free entry
Climb the triple spiral staircase at the Museo do Pobo Galego
Museo do Pobo Galego, San Domingos de Bonaval
1 to 2 hoursNo booking needed
Climb a 17th-century triple spiral staircase in stone whose three flights each lead to a different floor.
What it is
The Galician People's Museum fills the old Dominican convent of San Domingos de Bonaval, just outside the old walls to the north-east, and its star is architectural: a triple spiral staircase in stone, built by Domingo de Andrade in the 17th century, whose three separate flights start on the ground floor and each lead to a different floor. The rooms around it explain the Galicia beyond the cathedral, from the sea and the fields to crafts, costume and music. A side chapel of the convent church is the Panteón de Galegos Ilustres, where the poet Rosalía de Castro is buried.
How to do it
Afterwards, walk up into Álvaro Siza's Bonaval park, opened in 1994 over the convent's old orchards and cemetery.
Good to know
The museum opens Tuesday to Saturday from 11:00 to 18:00 and on Sundays and holidays from 11:00 to 14:00; tickets cost a few euros, and entry is free on 18 May, 25 July and 29 October.
Explore Peter Eisenman's City of Culture on Monte Gaiás
Cidade da Cultura de Galicia (Monte Gaiás)
2 hoursFree
The opposite of the old town: Peter Eisenman's stony crust on a hill, left unfinished when the Xunta halted the rest in 2013.
What it is
On Monte Gaiás, a hill outside the centre, the City of Culture of Galicia is the opposite of the old town: a cluster of buildings by the American architect Peter Eisenman, who won the 1999 international competition with a stony crust that recalls an archaeological dig, cut by lines that evoke the pilgrims' scallop shell. The first two buildings opened in January 2011, and in March 2013 the Xunta halted the rest, so the planned opera house and international art centre were never built. What stands holds the Library and Archive of Galicia, the Museo Centro Gaiás with changing exhibitions, and the 34-hectare Bosque de Galicia of native trees.
How to do it
City bus 9 on weekdays and 11 at weekends run up from the centre.
Good to know
Access is free: the grounds open daily from 8:00 to 23:00, the museum from 10:00 to 20:00, and its exhibitions close on Mondays.
Time needed
2 hours
Best time
Tuesday to Sunday; the exhibitions close on Mondays
Join the Fiestas del Apóstol on the night of 24 July
Old town and Praza do Obradoiro, Santiago de Compostela
An evening, or several daysNo booking needed
Fireworks from three points at 23:30 on 24 July, then a video mapping show on the Obradoiro, all free, for Saint James's day.
What it is
Saint James's day, 25 July, is also Galicia's national day, and Santiago celebrates it with the Fiestas del Apóstol, declared of International Tourist Interest. In 2026 they ran from 22 to 31 July.
How to do it
The big night is the 24th: at 23:30 a fireworks display is launched at the same time from three points, the Alameda, the City of Culture and the Parque de Carlomagno, and from midnight a video mapping show is projected onto the facade of the Pazo de Raxoi in the Obradoiro every 15 minutes. On the 25th there are parades of giant heads through the old town, folk music in the Praza da Quintana and open-air dances on the Alameda.
Good to know
Everything is free, but rooms fill months ahead, and 2027, a Holy Year, will be busier still.
A day, or about a week for the last 100 kmBook ahead
Walk the last stretch of the Camino Francés from Sarria and finish at Santiago's Cathedral with a Compostela to show for it.
What it is
The Compostela is the certificate issued by the Pilgrim's Office in Santiago. To earn it you must walk at least 100 continuous kilometres on one recognised route, ending at the Cathedral, or cycle at least 200 km.
How to do it
That is why Sarria on the Camino Francés, about 116 km out, is the usual start: roughly a week of stages through Portomarín, Palas de Rei, Melide and Arzúa. Carry a Credencial del Peregrino and get it stamped along the way, at the start and end of each stage if you walk only the minimum. The Pilgrim's Office at Rúa Carretas 33 opens daily from 9:00 to 19:00 and works with QR queue tickets.
Good to know
Municipal hostels take no bookings; private ones do, so reserve in July and August, and expect far bigger crowds in 2027, a Holy Year.
Santiago has its own airport, Rosalía de Castro, east of the city, with buses to the centre. The railway station south of the old town has direct trains from Madrid on the high-speed line to Galicia, completed in 2021, and regular trains along the coast to A Coruña, Pontevedra and Vigo. Pilgrims arrive on foot: the Camino Francés comes in from the east and finishes in the Praza do Obradoiro.
Getting around
Walk. The old town is small, cobbled and largely closed to traffic, and the cathedral, the market, San Martiño Pinario and the Alameda are all within ten minutes of each other. The City of Culture sits on Monte Gaiás, east of the centre, and is easier by city bus or taxi. Bring a raincoat or an umbrella: in must30's view the arcaded streets of Rúa do Vilar and Rúa Nova exist for a reason.
How many days
In must30's view, two days. Spend the first on the cathedral: the free visit early, then the Pórtico da Gloria and the rooftops on timed tickets. Give the second to the market in the morning, San Martiño Pinario, the Galician People's Museum and the Alameda at sunset. A third day buys a trip to Fisterra or the Rías Baixas.
When to go
The city fills up in summer, when most pilgrims arrive, and peaks during the Fiestas del Apóstol in late July. 2027 is a Holy Year, because 25 July falls on a Sunday, so expect far bigger crowds than usual all year. Most museums close on Mondays. In October 2026 the Pilgrim's Masses moved to the church of San Agustín and the botafumeiro was out of service, so check both before planning around them.
Questions travellers ask
Is Santiago Cathedral free to visit?
Yes. The cathedral is free every day from 7:00 to 21:00, entering by the Puerta de Platerías, with no backpacks and no visits during services. The Pórtico da Gloria, the rooftops and the museum are paid and booked on timed tickets at visitas.catedraldesantiago.es.
Will I see the botafumeiro swing?
Not for now. In October 2026 the cathedral says the botafumeiro is temporarily out of service for restoration. Normally it swings on fixed feast days, such as 25 July, 15 August, 1 November, 8 December and Christmas, and when pilgrim groups request it.
Where is the Pilgrim's Mass in October 2026?
From 16 October 2026, until further notice, the Pilgrim's Masses at 9:30, 12:00 and 19:30 are held in the nearby church of San Agustín while works go on in the cathedral's main chapel. The 7:30 Mass stays in the cathedral, in the Capilla de la Comunión.
Where do I collect the Compostela certificate?
At the Pilgrim's Office, Rúa Carretas 33, open daily from 9:00 to 19:00 with QR queue tickets. You need a stamped Credencial del Peregrino showing at least the last 100 km on foot, or 200 km by bike.
How many days do I need in Santiago?
Two days cover the cathedral with both timed tours, the market, the museums and the Alameda. Add a third if you want a day trip to Fisterra or the Rías Baixas.
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