Pontevedra is a Galician city of around 83,000 people. The city is the centre of Pontevedra Province with a population of around 200,000. It is located at the mouth of the Lerez river opening onto the Ria de Pontevedra.
The city has a beautifully preserved old town which is wonderful for exploring. Pontevedra council banned all non-essential cars from the centre of the city in 1999.
This move has made Pontevedra an even better place to be a pedestrian. Presumably, this will also help protect the city’s old town for years into the future. The city has won awards for its preservation and livability and quality of life.
It has many parks and squares and you could literally spend days walking from one to the other. A good starting point or target is Plaza de la Herrería in the old town. From here you can walk in virtually any direction and find interesting shopping or nice restaurants and cafes. In fact, if you had lunch at a different restaurant every day, it would probably take you a few weeks to work your way around the square. Plaza de la Herrería is the main meeting point for many people and there are always has people around.
There are so many churches and impressive buildings in Pontevedra it is hard to know what to name. Perhaps better to just visit wander and enjoy.
The city is an important checkpoint on the Portuguese Way, the southerly version of the Camino to Santiago de Compostela.
There is excellent shopping to be found ranging from the usual chains to small boutique stores. As always in Spain, there are plenty of places to stop and recharge with Galician food or drink.
The weather in the region is milder than in the south of Spain so it is a great alternative to major tourist destinations, especially with rising temperatures. The whole region is a popular Summer destination for Spaniards seeking to escape the heat.
There are also many day trips available to visit wineries and other sites in the region. For example, 30 minutes drive away is the seaside town of Cambados which is known as the Albarino wine capital.
The city is on the high-speed rail line connecting most of Galicia. The train takes just 17 minutes from Vigo in the south and 56 minutes from Santiago de Compostela to the north.
It takes around 50 minutes to drive from Santiago de Compostela. Driving time is about 30 minutes from Vigo.
Pontevedra does not have its own airport however with these short connection times to Santiago and Vigo, getting to Pontevedra is quite easy.