Vigo

Plaza de la Constitución

  

Rua Cesteiros

Vigo is the most populated city in Galicia. Its almost 300,000 inhabitants make up 12% of the whole of the population of Galicia. One of our travel books describes it as ‘gritty’, which we can relate to. You are certainly on top of a very active fishing and shipping port and some of the areas of the old city are in the process of, or are awaiting, much needed restoration, but it is easy to see past that and enjoy the elegance and charm of the old city. When the sun shines the granite stonework in Galicia has an orangey warm glow, which brings out its best. So far we have had some very overcast and, at times, showery weather which we feel has slightly affected the vibrancy of the place. At least we are not in a rush and I’m sure we’ll get to see the cafés in places like the characterful Plaza de la Constitución alive with activity.

Just next to the plaza is the narrow Rua Cesteiros which has several woven basket shops. But, rather than just being shop fronts for tourists, they actually still weave the baskets here. In most of the shops there was a craftsman or woman with hands a blur weaving baskets, chairs and boxes, as I’m sure they has been done here for 100s of years. Interesting to watch.

Then away from the old city there are many other younger buildings, still in beautiful stone and generally with more ornate decoration. However, it's very much a case of the smart and the ‘in need of restoration’ side by side as we have seen elsewhere. We’ve also enjoyed walking through the lovely gardens in the Plaza de Compostela on our way to and from the supermarket and some of the tapas bars.

Plaza de Compostela