Things to see in Santiago de Compostela

This dramatic modern art gallery, just outside the Porta do Camino, was designed by the Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza. It stands next to the Museo do Pobo Galego but shows a very different aspect of Galician life, with its permanent collection of modern Galician art. There is also space for a wide variety of temporary exhibitions, normally of a very high standard.

Tues-Sun 1100-2000.

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Housed in a 14th-century convent, this museum is devoted to the history of the Galician people, from their Celtic origins onwards. There are extensive archaeological and ethnographic displays, exhibits of traditional architecture, as well as models and displays showing local trades and crafts. The convent's beautiful gothic chapel also contains the Pantheon of Famous Galicians. The remarkable triple helical stairway inside the museum provides one of the city’s best photo opportunities.

Tues-Sat 1030-1400/1600-1930, Sun 1100-1400.

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The paved Praza do Obradoiro faces the main cathedral facade and comprises a whole ensemble of architectural gems. Probably the best surviving example of Romanesque civic architecture in Spain, the Pazo de Xelmírez (next to the cathedral cloisters) has a perfect vaulted medieval interior behind its 18th-century facade.

On the north side of the square, the Hostal dos Reis Católicos, with its four courtyards, was built by Ferdinand and Isabella as a pilgrim hospice, and is now one of Spain's loveliest parador hotels. The Colexio de San Xerome is a smaller medieval building with a finely decorated 15th-century portal. The Colexio de Fonseca, immediately behind it, is a Renaissance college decorated inside and out.

On the other side of the cathedral, the Praza da Quintana square has a flight of steps that divide it into the ‘Quintana of the Living’ and ‘Quintana of the Dead’ – there was once a cemetery here. Adjacent to this square, the Praza das Praterías (Silversmith's Square) has at its centre the ornate Fuente de los Caballos, a fountain of four horses with webbed feet. The arcades around the square are still lined with many shops selling silver articles.

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The Praza da Inmaculada is graced on one side by the cathedral and on the other by the grand baroque facade of the Benedictine monastery of San Martiño Pinario. The monastery building, once the second biggest in Spain, is now mainly used as offices linked to the church. The church itself was completed in 1652 and is dominated by a vast, ornate Churrigueresque altarpiece that depicts its patron, St. Martin, riding alongside St. James.

Daily 1100-1330/1600-1900 (Jun-Sep); Tues-Sat 1100-1330/1600-1830, Sun 1100-1330 (Oct-May).

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One of the more active spots in the city, the Food Market is one of the best places to feel the pulse of Santiago de Compostela (and indeed Galicia) during the morning. The market has been operating here in one form or another for over three centuries. Best of all, a number of the restaurants around the market will cook up any fresh ingredients you have bought for a nominal fee.

Mon-Sat 0700-1400.

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Of the many pleasant parks dotted across the city, Alameda has both bustling, verdant walkways, popular with locals on weekends, and quiet contemplative viewpoints of the cathedral, making it well worth a visit. Look out for the “Two Marias” statue which celebrates two old ladies who, until well into their 90s, used to venture out into the park every afternoon at 1400 to flirt with the city’s students.

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