Things to do in

Ourense

Fill a day with wine, art, gastronomy, and natural beauty. Visit an amazing monastery, magical viewpoint and a medieval town on this guided day tour of Ribeira Sacra. Enjoy a boat ride along the Sil River between the hills where grapes are grown , sometimes at vertical cliffs. Discover Galician cuisine and roman & celtic culture. Start your tour from the Plaza de Galicia in Santiago de Compostela. Local guides join you in the air-conditioned minibuses. First stop will take place at an small valley just beside the Sil River, where we´ll find an small dock between a huge oak forest and vineyards. Driveing down Sil River valley for a leisurely cruise. More vineyards cover the slopes along the river, sometimes at vertical cliffs. Thats the reason for the name "heroic viticulture", done along centuries at this valleys. The guide will explain a lot of interesting things about this special wine production systems. One of the most spectacular viewpoints of Galicia will be waiting at the south side of the Sil River. Amazing views of vineyards wich have been built at impossible places, and the Sil River, always quiet. Views of many kilometers of chessnut and oak forests, vines and very tiny villages. Discover the oldest monastery of Galicia!, first monks arrived there on VI th Century and lived into a cave. Now, the cave and the monastery of San Pedro de Rocas can be visited and there we´ll find an interesting museum with a lot of interesting history and stories about the area, the way of living of the monks and typical jobs of the Ribeira Sacral Lunch time at the most beautiful town of the province and one of the most spectacular ones of Spain: Allariz. There are lots of nice restaurants waiting for us and offering the best meals of this region. After lunch, guided visit to the old town of Allariz, where we´ll find tiny streets, beautiful squares and spectacular medieval buildings, all it crossed by a beautiful river with a medieval bridge. Allariz has lot of history and it has lot of interesting traditions. The town has been used many times for filming important movies because of the beauty of its streets, buildings and squares.

Discover the unique Ribeira Sacra area along the banks of the Miño and Sil Rivers. Let its centuries-old vineyards and the charms of the Romanesque captivate you. Enjoy a catamaran ride down the Sil River, discover the Monastery of San Pedro de Rocas, and explore the city of Ourense. Depart from Santiago in the morning and with a stop in Ourense so more people can join in. Take a catamaran ride upstream through the canyons of the River Sil. On the boat, taste a typical wine from the area. At the end of the ride, go to one of the viewpoints that surround the Ribeira Sacra to see the immensity of its landscape. Next, stop at the Monastery of San Pedro de Rocas, a unique architectural symbol of the Ribeira Sacra, located in the heart of the region. Then, continue to Ourense, known as the thermal capital of Galicia. Enjoy free time for lunch and visit the historic center. Stroll through its cobbled streets and find out why it is known as the city of bridges before returning to Santiago in the evening. For those staying in Ourense, the tour will end in As Burgas. NOTE: in October we will visit the Monastery of Santo Estevo instead of the Monastery of San Pedro de Rocas.

After being picked up by the bus at the meeting point in Santiago, you will head with our guide to the southern part of Galicia, mainly to the province of Ourense. As a big start for this tour, you will explore deeper Ribeira Sacra zone, by enjoying a boat trip and ride, through the famous Sil river. Through this boat trip, you can clearly observe the known as "heroic viticulture" which means the vineyards that surround the Sil River pass. You will continue the tour, visiting one of the most incredible sight view in the area, from which you can enjoy spectacular views of the Sil river and its long shores, full of vineyards. With all those moments and views, you continue the tour, reaching one of the most known villages of Ribeira Sacra, called Allariz. This is the wright place and time to enjoy and experience the authentic gastronomy of Ribeira Sacra at some of its available restaurants. After lunch and rest, it will be the time to explore and discover, the impressive monastery of San Pedro de Rocas including all its surroundings and landscapes. With all that, it will definitely be your best experience visiting Ribeira Sacra and you best tour you do to this zone.

Discover the Ribeira Sacra and Allariz on a Day Trip from Santiago de Compostela This carefully planned itinerary ensures you make the most of every moment as you explore the stunning Ribeira Sacra and charming Allariz. The journey begins at 8:00 AM from the designated meeting point, the Hotel Universal in Santiago de Compostela. Once gathered, we’ll head towards the heart of Galicia, traveling through the provinces of Lugo and Ourense. Please note that the order of visits may vary depending on boat and monastery schedules. The highlight of the trip is a scenic catamaran cruise along the Sil River Canyons, departing from Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil. From the boat, you'll have a privileged view of the Sil River and the region’s most inaccessible vineyards. For an hour and a half, we’ll sail through the steep cliffs of the canyon while learning about the region's fascinating "heroic viticulture," unique to these challenging landscapes. Next, we'll visit a breathtaking viewpoint overlooking the Sil Canyons, where natural beauty, cultural heritage, and history come together. Here, you'll witness a towering granite formation over 700 meters tall that dramatically drops more than 400 meters to the river below—an awe-inspiring sight to behold. The tour continues with a visit to the Monastery of San Pedro de Rocas, a historic gem nestled in the Barbeiró Mountain. At this ancient monastery, you can explore anthropomorphic tombs, the 19th-century church façade, the bell tower, and the renowned San Benito Fountain, believed to have miraculous waters. Our journey then leads us to the enchanting town of Allariz, where you’ll enjoy a guided tour through one of Galicia’s most charming villages. Allariz is rich in cultural, monumental, and natural beauty, with its picturesque squares, historic churches, and monuments set within a natural environment designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The town is also steeped in history and legend, making it a fascinating stop. After a day full of discovery and unforgettable moments, we’ll return to the bus and make our way back to Santiago de Compostela. Please note that the order of the visits may be adjusted based on the availability of the catamaran and other scheduled stops.

This visit will begin in the Plaza Mayor, just in front of the City Hall, our guide will be waiting for you with a blue umbrella, so you can recognise him. Here we will talk about the Roman origins of the city through its history. Here are the statues of the founders of Lucus Augusti, as Lugo was baptized in Roman times. Paulo Fabio Máximo receives the map of the city from Emperor Augustus. But Lugo is also preserved as a medieval city and as proof of this we have its historic quarter, located within its walls, where we can see the Cathedral and the streets surrounded by the typical arcades. Lugo is a city that grew within its Roman walls over time. From the Cathedral you can access the walls, we will make a section of these where we can see Lugo outside the walls and inside the walls as well as some remains of domus or Roman houses discovered in the area. After strolling through its walls, we will enter its streets full of local shops and tapas areas, where we can enjoy the great gastronomic offer of the city, because as the saying goes "...and to eat: Lugo". Another proof of its gastronomy is the Mercado de Abastos, where you can see all its most typical products. We cannot miss its famous "wine zone", for this reason we will be finishing the tour in the Plaza del Campo, where the weekly market used to be held, today the starting point for the streets where you can taste a great dish accompanied by a good wine.

Are you one of those who have their own marked itinerary? There is a specific area of the city that you are especially interested in knowing? Then a private tour is the perfect option for you. If you just want to get to know the city and its most important parts and HIstory and have no particular choice, no problem either, we have a route that gathers the most interesting details and places. You choose the day and the hour. You will have the opportunity to visit one of the only inclined main squares in all of Europe, lose yourself among the charming stalls of the Mercado de Abastos and visit one of the most famous monuments in the city to discover its numerous properties, Las Burgas. All this while you learn about the past of the city and its evolution to the present, one of the main cities of Galicia. And of course, you can also visit the Cathedral of Ourense and find out about all the legends and stories that surround it. We will lose ourselves in the streets of wines, famous for their restaurants and tapas bars where we can see first-hand the fame of Galician gastronomy. You will be guided by an officially licensed professional guide the resides in Ourense so for sure there is no missing out on anything.