Monforte de Lemos
Camino de Invierno
Monforte de Lemos is the largest town on the Invierno between Ponferrada and Santiago, and it has all services. It's an elegant place, built around the confluence of the Río Cabe and a hilltop monastery complex that dominates the skyline.
The Colegio Nuestra Señora de la Antigua (known locally as the Colegio de los Escolapios) is the main attraction — an austere Renaissance monastery that now houses a school. Tours of the rest of the complex are 3 euros, at noon and 4 pm Tuesday through Saturday. The small art gallery has two paintings by El Greco, and the dome of the church is breathtaking after days of wide-open sky. The railway museum (MUFERGA) is also worth a visit. The tourist office is closed on Mondays.
For accommodation, there are many options. Hostal Duquesa (Duquesa de Alba 50, tel. 982 403 467) has been recommended — 17 euros for a room with bath. Hotel Condes de Lemos (Praza da Estación 2, tel. 982 400 319) is further from the center. Hostal Rúa (Roberto Baamonde 30), Hotel El Castillo (Huertas 36, tel. 982 402 150), and Hotel Terra Gallega (Chantada 218, tel. 982 405 090) are also options. The municipal sports hall may be available for pilgrims (floor space and showers only, tel. 982 402 501).
For food, Restaurante Cardenal on the main pedestrian street gets high marks. O Grelo, up on the hill near the parador, serves excellent food (not cheap). Al Portal and Restaurante Polar in the center are recommended. Café Chokolat on Rúa do Comercio opens early for breakfast.
There's a laundromat on Rúa Chantada (the road over the Puente Romano), just before the Lidl and Gadis supermarkets, opposite the Mapfre insurance offices at the traffic lights.
Stock up on food and water here. The next 29 km to Chantada have very little in the way of services. Between here and Chantada, your only accommodation options are casas rurales: La Rectoral de Castillón (tel. 982 455 415, about 10 km out — the owners will pick up pilgrims from the camino), Torre Vilariño (tel. 982 452 260, about 14 km out), and a casa rural in Castrotañe. Phone ahead to reserve.
Cross the Puente Romano and make an immediate left at the monastery of the Clarisas. Go right at the old town hall plaza — you'll see a shell set into the pavement. Follow Rúa Abeledos to the edge of town, passing an unmarked bakery on the left. Where two roads branch left (Rúa O Saviñao and Poeta Manuel María), take the latter. Walk between the church of San Antonio and the back of the Gadis supermarket to reach a roundabout with a hórreo. Turn left to another roundabout — a pilgrim statue points toward A Vide. Pass the 24-hour Repsol station on the right.
The next stretch is one of the few sections on asphalt with no soft shoulder.
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