Route for cruise passengers

If you choose this urban route through Vigo in 90 minutes, you’ll discover the most essential Vigo in a short and entertaining walk. If you arrive in Vigo on a cruise ship or if you’re planning a weekend in Vigo, this route of less than 2 hours will take you through the Old Town, where you can discover the elements that make Vigo the most modern city in Galicia. It starts at the Muelle de Transatlánticos (Cruise ship pier) and ends right in the heart of Vigo.

To start off, there’s nothing better than a stroll through the gardens of the Avenidas (Avenues), leaving the marina to your left, and from which there is a clear view of the entire estuary. Along the city’s seafront and parallel to Alameda Park, in Praza de Compostela, you’ll find some fine examples of Vigo’s stately architecture dated from the late 19th century, when the city began to develop considerably. On Policarpo Sanz Street, up from the Praza de Compostela along Colón Street, are the most significant buildings of Vigo’s milla de oro (golden mile), such as the García Barbón Theatre or the headquarters of several banks.

Following Policarpo Sanz Street, the tour ends in the Porta do Sol, called Porta because it was one of the main entrances through the old city walls. This is the square where you’ll find the Sireno (Merman), a sculpture half fish, half man that symbolizes Vigo’s symbiosis with the sea. This is also where the pedestrian, shopping Príncipe Street begins, and at its very end is the MARCO, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (Museum of Contemporary Art). After following this bustling street to the end, you can turn right behind the museum and go back along the parallel, also full of shops.

Back in Porta do Sol, cross towards the Old Town through the Praza da Constitución square, where you’ll see the old city hall. The arcaded square is the starting point of several streets with craft shops and typical gastronomic products.

While walking along the streets of the Old Town towards the sea, you’ll pass by the Colegiata de Santa María, the city’s most important church, and you’ll reach a skywalk that crosses into A Laxe Shopping Centre, in the cruise ship pier. This is an area with excellent Galician gastronomic options, where the seafood and wines have Rías Baixas denomination of origin.