The city and province of Pontevedra

Pontevedra is something of a conundrum. It is the provincial capital of the Pontevedra province, but is far from the area's biggest city - that crown falls to Vigo. Despite this, it is an interesting and enjoyable city to explore and it has a well defined historic district with plenty to see.

General information about Pontevedra

Although close to the coast, Pontevedra is, strictly speaking, an inland city. Once its estuary saw much seafaring traffic, but it long since silted up and now the city relies on manufacturing and processing for its economic survival. Conflict has also been a significant part of this city's history, with battles for dominance and provincal control with neighbour Vigo, a far bigger and more highly populated urbanisation. Today Pontevedra's status is no longer in doubt, but many consider it more of a town than a city.

Buildings and historic monuments in Pontevedra city

Tip 1. Unlike Santiago, la Coruna and Lugo, Pontevedra has no iconic symbol associated with it. That said, it does have a few contenders for such a role and one of those is the Pilgrims church. This highly symbolic building is almost circular when viewed from above and is less practical and more representational than anything else. It has strong connections with the Santiago pilgrimage and this, along with its unique appearance, make it a must see building for all visitors to the area.

Tip 2. The city has several churches in addition to that above and again a couple of them have both aesthetic and historic value. Particularly important examples are the church of San Bartolomeu, a 17th century building that is now incorporated in to a continuous terrace of buildings and the church of Saint Francis, a less than stunning building, but with many historic connections to local noblemen. This church is also situated to the side of the city's largest old square.

Tip 3. The Santa Maria cathedral is Pontevedra's most important piece of religious city heritage. It was built in, and using money from, the city's days as a major sea port. The building has had many additions over time and today has two very distinct facades. It also has some valuable artifacts within and plays a major role in some of the more important festival celebrations.

Tip 4. Many tourist to Pontevedra visit the musem complex spread over 3 main and 2 auxillary buildings. Most of the exhibits are regional, if not provincial, and the collection is regarded as being of national importance.

Tip 5. Like all Galician cities, Pontevedra has a number of plazas with history and historic buildings linked to them. One in particular, the Teucro, has a mythical connection with the ancient Greeks and a more tangiable connection with the city's heraldry which is carved into the granite walls of its surrounding buildings. It is regarded as the single most important area in Galicia for displaying the greatest number of heraldic stone etched sheilds.

Commuting to Pontevedra and beyond

You reach Pontevedra from the UK by flying in to either Santiago de Compostela or la Coruna airports. By car the Journey from Santiago will be less than an hour and approximately double that from la Coruna.

As a result of its compact nature and small size (for a city), Pontevedra can easily be explored on foot. Journeying along the surrounding coast and to the city of Vigo is best done by car.

Pontevedra sees plenty of foreign pilgrims on route to Santiago, but few less religiously inspired travellers. Despite this, it is an interesting and worthwhile city to visit.