Santiago de Compostela in the northwestern corner of Spain is often overlooked by tourists who prefer to flock to the more popular cities of Barcelona and Madrid or the southern beachside resort towns in the Malaga province.
This UNESCO World Heritage city offers a gateway to the Galacia region which has its own rich and unique history, language and culture.
The city is, however, most known as the end point for pilgrims completing “the Camino”. Pilgrims finish the Camino by seeking blessings at the Cathedral of St James. More than 200,000 pilgrims now complete the Camino each year with numbers growing as the walk regains popularity.
With the city’s popularity, a wide variety of accommodation is now offered, including the major hotel chains.
With only an overnight stay planned we chose to stay in the historical Old Town area to give us an opportunity to explore the area on foot and watch pilgrims entering the city on the final leg of their Camino journey to receive blessings at the Cathedral of St James.
We were lucky to find a reasonably priced hotel very close to the Cathedral and right on the Camino trail leading into the Old Town. Casas Reais is a lovely boutique hotel with only 9 rooms. The rooms are spacious, simple but modern, comfortable and tastefully decorated. Each has its own bathroom facilities. The hotel offers breakfast in a small café on site and it is the perfect spot to sit with a drink to people watch at the end of a day out exploring the city.
Our host, Montse was very accommodating, courteous and helpful, advising us of sights worth visiting and pointing us in the right direction for our morning walk.
We will be returning for a longer stay. Plans are in place to complete the full Camino and a longer stay in Santiago de Compostela to see all that we missed on our first visit.
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