Ferrol

The city of Ferrol is located in the Ría de Ferrol, the most protected of the Rías Altas, and is defended by the castles of La Palma and San Felipe, guardians of its port. Pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela from the north of France, Scandinavian countries and mainly from England, Ireland and Scotland, arrived from the Middle Ages onwards by boat at the port of Coruxeiras, considered the starting point of the English Way in Galicia.

The most important places to visit are the Magdalena quarter, a historic-artistic complex, which originated in the 18th century, when the Spanish Crown decided to install the Military Arsenal and the shipyards in the city. The Magdalena district is a good example of the rationalism of the Enlightenment and has a good collection of modernist and neoclassical buildings worthy of admiration. Special mention should be made of the co-cathedral of San Julián, the church of San Francisco and the church of Socorro, where some of the magnificent sculptures in the processions of Ferrol’s Holy Week, a Festival of International Tourist Interest, come from.

Among its museums, we would highlight EXPONAV (Shipbuilding Museum) and the Naval Military Museum, which are world references in their genre.

For those who admire street art, there is nothing like a visit to the Canido district, where the painting Las Meninas by the famous painter Velázquez is the “leitmotif” of this large open-air museum.

Ferrol is also a good starting point to discover the Rías Altas, the Mariña Lucense or the Santo André de Teixido Sanctuary, where the highest cliffs in continental Europe can be found.

The explanations of our official tour guides, together with anecdotes, the history of the city and the artistic descriptions of the monuments, will make your visit to Ferrol a unique experience.