A Coruña is a city with serious Atlantic character. The Torre de Hércules — the only functioning Roman-era lighthouse in the world, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site — stands on the headland as it has since the 1st century. The glass-fronted galerías along the Avenida de la Marina give the waterfront a shimmering quality that changes with the light. Locals call it La Ciudad de Cristal.
The Camino starts at the Iglesia de Santiago in the Ciudad Vieja, the oldest church in the city. Pick up your credencial there — it's open mornings (10:00-13:00) and evenings (18:30-22:00). The first waymarker is on Rúa Santiago, just behind the church, marking 73 km to Santiago de Compostela.
There's no Xunta public albergue in A Coruña itself — the first public albergues are at Sergude and Hospital de Bruma. Private pilgrim-friendly accommodation exists. All services: supermarkets, pharmacies, ATMs, outdoor shops. Give yourself a night to explore the Ciudad Vieja, the Plaza de María Pita with its three-domed town hall, and the Paseo Marítimo — over 13 km of waterfront promenade. The Jardín de San Carlos is worth a visit: a quiet garden where Sir John Moore, the British general killed at the Battle of Elviña in 1809, is buried.
A Coruña eats well. Pulpo, percebes (goose barnacles harvested from storm-battered rocks), empanada gallega, and whatever the fishing boats brought in that morning. Wash it down with a cold Albariño from the Rías Baixas.
The A Coruña route is approximately 73 km — short of the 100 km minimum required for the Compostela certificate on foot. If the Compostela matters to you, consider starting from Ferrol (119 km) instead, or check with the Pilgrim's Office about current qualification options.
A Coruña's port has served Atlantic sailors since the Romans established Brigantium here in the 1st century BCE. The Torre de Hércules has guided ships for nearly 2,000 years. In 1208, Alfonso IX refounded the city and improved the road to Santiago, establishing it as a pilgrim port. English, Irish, Flemish, and Scandinavian pilgrims arrived here by sea from the 12th century onward — the English pilgrim William Wey recorded 84 ships from "all the northern nations" in the harbour in 1456.
The city's most famous moment came in 1589, when María Pita — a local woman whose husband had been killed on the walls — seized an English ensign's spear, killed him, and rallied the defenders against Sir Francis Drake's counter-armada fleet of 150 ships. The main square, the August festival, and a bronze statue all bear her name.
Hogueras de San Juan (June 23-24) — the beaches of Riazor and Orzán erupt with bonfires at midnight. Locals jump over the flames three times for luck and swim in the sea to wash away the old year. Sardines grilled outdoors, fireworks over the bay. Declared a Fiesta of Tourist Interest.
Fiestas de María Pita (August) — a month-long summer festival with open-air concerts in the Plaza de María Pita, historical re-enactments of the 1589 English invasion, and fireworks.
The Camino leaves the Ciudad Vieja along the Avenida de la Marina — you walk beneath the famous galerías — through the Cantones and on to Plaza de Cuatro Caminos. The first kilometres are urban, all pavement and sidewalks. After Portazgo the landscape shifts from city to estuary as you approach O Burgo, where a medieval bridge crosses the Ría. From O Burgo, the terrain becomes increasingly rural through Cambre municipality, with a sustained climb to the Alto de Peito. Services are scarce after O Burgo — carry food and water.
A residential neighbourhood on the edge of A Coruña. Still city, but the density thins out. Nothing here for pilgrims beyond the sidewalk — press on toward the estuary.
The boundary between A Coruña and the municipality of Culleredo. There's an Alcampo hypermarket about 100 m off the route — your last chance for proper shopping before the terrain turns rural. A few bars along the road. The waymarking through here can be confusing — follow the arrows carefully.
O Burgo sits at the head of the Ría, and crossing the medieval bridge here is one of the best moments on this stretch. The Ponte do Burgo dates to the 14th century, built by the Andrade family and inscribed "Ave María Gracia Plena." Sir John Moore destroyed it during the Peninsular War in 1809; it was rebuilt and most recently restored in 1992.
On the far side stands the Igrexa de Santiago do Burgo, a 12th-century Romanesque church with three semicircular apses and an iron door decorated with a scallop shell. Inside you'll find 18th-century images of Santiago as Pilgrim, Santiago as Knight, and the Virgen del Peregrino.
A few pensions nearby. The walk along the ría before and after the bridge is the most scenic stretch of the day.
Before A Coruña rose to prominence, O Burgo was the primary reception port for maritime pilgrims from Northern Europe. During the reign of Alfonso VII (1111-1157), English and Flemish ships docked here regularly. The Knights Templar maintained a castle-fortress and provided security for pilgrims and merchants. The convergence of pilgrim, military, and monastic interests at this tiny river crossing made it a critical node on the medieval Camino Inglés.
After crossing the bridge, a steep climb on pavement takes you up through Culleredo and into the municipality of Cambre. The path crosses the medieval Ponte da Xira over the Río Valiñas, then continues climbing through Sigrás, Ancéis, and on into Carral municipality. The terrain transitions from suburban to rural. Fountains are few — the next reliable water is at the fountain in Ancéis.
A small parish with more pilgrim history than you'd expect. The Igrexa de Santiago de Sigrás is a 12th-century Romanesque church with a 17th-century seated Santiago figure holding a pilgrim's staff. The current rectory stands on the site of a medieval pilgrim hospital — documented in a 1607 inspection as sheltering "poor pilgrims" with minimal resources. A stone cruceiro and a peto de ánimas from 1815 complete the picture. The church complex is well maintained and makes a natural rest stop.
The pilgrim hospital at Sigrás was documented in a 1607 inspection by Jerónimo del Hoyo, who recorded that it sheltered poor pilgrims arriving from Northern European ports. The Romanesque church dedicated to Santiago dates to the 12th century. The cruceiro nearby traditionally marked where unbaptized children were buried.
The Fonte de San Antonio, opposite the Pazo de Drozo, has a working fountain — refill your water here. A few benches and an information board make it a good rest spot. The Pazo de Drozo is a late 16th-century manor house with an impressive coat of arms, visible from the route but not open to the public. The parish church of San Xoán de Ancéis is worth a glance if it's open.
A small hamlet at the entrance to Carral municipality. The Panadería Da Cunha is the first real refreshment stop since O Burgo — famous locally for its empanadas and traditional Carral bread. If it's open, stop. There's also a rest area with benches and a fountain in a walled enclosure.
The Xunta albergue here has 30 beds, EUR 10/night, with kitchen, heating, WiFi, and washing machine. Open year-round from 1:00 PM. No reservations. It's the logical place to split the A Coruña-to-Bruma walk if you don't want to push the full distance in one go.
For food, Casa Adolfo is a bar about 400 m along the Camino from the albergue — meals and dinners available. Don't count on finding anything else open between here and Hospital de Bruma.
From Sergude the terrain becomes seriously rural. The next 13 km to Hospital de Bruma include the hardest climb on the entire Camino Inglés — a sustained ascent of nearly 6 km to the Alto de Peito. The views from the top take in A Coruña, Ferrol, and the coast. After the summit, the path descends through forest and scattered hamlets to Bruma. Carry food and water — services are effectively nonexistent.
A few houses along a lane. No services. The countryside between Sergude and Sarandós is quiet farmland and forest — enjoy it while the terrain is still gentle.
A small parish with a Baroque church and a café (Café Bar O Central) — though its hours are unreliable, especially on holidays. The sustained climb to the Alto de Peito begins in earnest just past here. Near the hamlet of Aquelabanda, a wayside chapel from 1697 sits beside a noble building where Philip II reportedly spent the night in 1554.
A crossroads marked by a cruceiro. No services. You're passing through the parish of Santa Mariña de Beira.
A scattered rural parish — fewer than 500 people spread across 16 hamlets. No pilgrim services. Eucalyptus forest, small fields, granite farmsteads — deep rural Galicia.
A scattering of houses along the road. No services. Keep walking.
Hospital de Bruma is a tiny hamlet with outsized historical significance — a pilgrim hospital has stood here since 1140, making it one of the oldest documented pilgrim shelters on any Camino route. The original hospital dedicated to San Lorenzo is long gone, but the albergue occupies the same spot. A modest chapel remains.
This is also where the two branches of the Camino Inglés converge — the route from Ferrol and the route from A Coruña meet here. From this point forward, you share the path.
Food is available just down the road at Casa Graña. Services are otherwise minimal — this is a hamlet, not a town.
A pilgrim hospital dedicated to San Lorenzo was established here in 1140 and became part of the Hospital de Santiago. Pilgrims have been stopping at this exact spot for nearly 900 years. The convergence of the Ferrol and A Coruña routes made this a natural waypoint.
The next stretch to Sigüeiro is about 24 km through forest and rural paths. The terrain is predominantly flat with gentle inclines — a welcome change after the hills south of Betanzos. You'll pass through several tiny villages, but services are scarce until Sigüeiro. The walking is pleasant — eucalyptus groves, traditional hórreos, quiet lanes — but carry what you need.
Accommodation in Hôpital de Bruma.
| Albergue de la Xunta de Bruma 10€ 22 |
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No bar here, but there's another cluster of buildings a short distance down the road that does have one. Don't count on it being open — check locally or carry your own supplies.
A small village along the road. No notable services for pilgrims. The path continues through quiet countryside.
A handful of houses along the road. No services.
Small village. No notable services for pilgrims.
Sigüeiro is the last proper town before Santiago, and it's where you'll want to sort out anything you need before the final stretch. It sits on the Río Tambre, and the bridge across it marks the approach into town.
Basic services: a few bars, restaurants, small shops. The Albergue Camino Real is a large albergue with good facilities including a kitchen. This has been an important stopping point for English Way pilgrims for centuries — close enough to Santiago to allow an early start and arrival for the pilgrim mass.
The town is small and functional, more agricultural than picturesque. But after two days of rural walking with minimal services, a hot meal and a proper bed feel earned.
Sigüeiro has long been the traditional last stop before Santiago on the Camino Inglés. The pilgrim history here is quiet but deep.
Market day — check locally.
Accommodation in Sigüeiro.
| Albergue Mirás 18€ 14 Booking.com |
A small village between Sigüeiro and Santiago. No significant services. You're getting close now.
An industrial estate on the outskirts of Santiago. There's a café-bar here (Café Bar Polígono) for breakfast or coffee, but the surroundings offer little visual reward. This is the final sprint — the old town is close now, and you'll be walking through city neighbourhoods from here.
Welcome to Santiago. You've walked the English Way, and whatever your reasons for being here, the city has a way of making the arrival feel significant.
Your first pilgrim business is likely in front of the Cathedral, at kilometer zero. A shell and plaque mark the spot in the centre of Plaza Obradoiro. Take a moment — or don't. Some pilgrims are emotional here, others just want a shower. Both are valid.
If you want your Compostela, head to the Pilgrim's Office. It moved in 2016 to a bright new building. From Plaza Obradoiro, face the Parador (the large hotel on your left when facing the Cathedral) and take the road that goes downhill to the left. Halfway down you'll pass the public restrooms, then turn right at the next street. The office is at the end. There are few arrows pointing the way, which feels like one last navigational test.
You're encouraged to stay at least one extra day. Santiago's old town is a web of narrow streets that all seem to bring you back to the Cathedral, and there's more here than you'll see in an afternoon.
The Cathedral — Plaza by Plaza
1. Plaza de Inmaculada (Azabache): The first part of the Cathedral you'll encounter coming into the city. The Puerta de la Azabachería faces the Monastery of San Martín Piñario across the square.
2. Plaza Obradoiro: From Azabache you pass under the Palace of the Bishop — adjoined to the Cathedral and not the sort of palace that affords much peaceful sleeping, given the bagpipes from dawn to dusk. The stairway leads to Plaza Obradoiro and kilometer zero. The scallop shell is embedded in the centre of the plaza. The Obradoiro facade is the most photographed face of the Cathedral — 18th-century baroque, all movement and glass. Behind it lies the Pórtico de la Gloria, the original entrance to the church designed by Maestro Mateo 600 years before the new facade was built.
3. Plaza Platerías: Continue around the Cathedral to the Puerta de las Platerías, named for the silver shops that still trade below it. Some of the stonework is replacement carving — the originals were damaged and moved to the Cathedral Museum, and unfortunately nobody remembered the original composition. The result is a somewhat nonsensical arrangement. The Platerías fountain in front is the usual meeting point for pilgrims — everyone calls it 'the horse fountain'.
4. Plaza de Quintana: The largest of the squares, home to the Puerta de Perdón. The actual Holy Door is behind this facade — which isn't really part of the Cathedral structure, more a highly decorated wall built around the door itself. The 24 saints and prophets carved here are worth studying.
Inside the Cathedral
In medieval times, pilgrims slept on the Cathedral floor and fought — sometimes to the death — for the privilege of sleeping near their preferred chapel. Things have calmed down since.
The best time to visit is early morning, before the crowds. The crypt and the bust of Santiago can be visited quietly then. The botafumeiro — possibly the largest thurible in the Catholic Church — is swung across the transept by a team called the tiraboleiros. It has come loose from the ropes only twice, and never in modern times. The schedule for swinging it changes — ask at the Pilgrim's Office for current information.
San Martín Piñario
The Monastery of San Martín Piñario is enormous — you'll find yourself walking beside it constantly on the north side of the Cathedral. Three cloisters. The church entrance is curious: you descend stairs to reach the doors, rather than climbing them. The reason is a decree by the Archbishop that no building should exceed the Cathedral in height. The architects didn't make San Martín shorter — they dug down and started lower.
San Fiz de Solovio
The oldest building site in Santiago, though you wouldn't guess it from the modest exterior. Find it by heading to the Mercado de Abastos. San Pelayo — the hermit who rediscovered the bones of Santiago — was praying here when the lights called him. Excavations have revealed foundations and a necropolis dating to the 6th century.
The Mercado de Abastos
The produce market is a good place to wander for lunch. Compared to the markets in Madrid or Barcelona, Santiago's is a fairly solemn affair — utilitarian architecture, as Galician as it gets. But the vendors are the experience. Many are second, third, or fifth generation market operators. The current buildings date from the early 1940s but replace structures that stood for 300 years.
Alameda Park
Once a place for Santiago's elite to parade their wealth along class-segregated paths. Now democratic. The park hosts a Ferris wheel and feria in summer, an ice skating rink in winter, and a massive eucalyptus tree with views of the Cathedral year round.
Casa de la Troya
The Troya House inspired one of the most celebrated novels in Spanish literature — a young man from Madrid forced by his father to finish his law studies in Santiago. A tale of misery and eventually love. The museum recreates the boarding house as it would have looked when the novel was written. The Tuna musicians who perform nightly in Plaza Obradoiro would have lived here.
The Hidden Pilgrim
In Plaza Quintana, hiding in the shadows cast by the Cathedral, there's a pilgrim carved into the stone. He's only visible at night. Finding him might take a while.
Santiago has many more monasteries beyond these. Walking between them reveals the bones of how the city was built. Take the time.
Book ahead if you're arriving in high season. The albergue roster has grown in recent years, but pilgrim numbers still exceed capacity in summer. Private accommodation fills up fast around the Feast of Saint James.
The Feast of Saint James (July 25) is the big one — a full week of music and dance, with fireworks in Plaza Obradoiro on the evening of the 24th. Best views from Obradoiro itself or from Alameda Park.
Accommodation in Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle à la fin du Camino Inglés.
| Albergue Mundoalbergue 19€ 34 |
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| Albergue The Last Stamp 19-25€ 62 Booking.com |
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| Albergue Azabache 16-25€ 22 Booking.com |
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| Albergue La Estrella de Santiago 13-25€ 24 |
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| KM. 0 20-35€ 54 Booking.com |
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| Albergue SIXTOS no Caminho 20€ 40 Booking.com |
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| Albergue Fin del Camino 15€ 110 |
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