Freetour Santiago de Compostela: Hidden Santiago

This free tour of Santiago de Compostela takes you through some of the most beautiful and most admired corners of the old part of the city, around the Cathedral. We will also share lots of curiosities and anecdotes during the visit.

We start at Praza das Praterías, in front of the South façade of the Cathedral. Our meeting point is the Fountain of the Horses. This fountain of beautiful baroque style has given rise to many interpretations about its meaning.

Then we will show you the huge scallop shell that is said to support the entire cathedral. It is not visible to the naked eye, so you may have passed by it before without noticing it. On your next visit, you’ll be able to boast that you know Santiago better than anyone else.

The next stop on our freetour of Santiago is the Árbol de las Ciencias, one of Santiago’s most famous landmarks. Here, students undecided about which career to choose used to perform a ritual to make up their minds, and you can do it too!

A few steps away you will reach the majestic Plaza del Obradoiro, surrounded by emblematic buildings. This is the place to stop. We will comment on some details of the cathedral’s façade, admire its towers and see the oldest hotel in the city. We will also see a curious element carved in stone that is present throughout the historic area. What is it? What does it mean? We will tell you all about it!

We leave the square through the Arco de la Música, where the sound of bagpipes will accompany us for a while to round off the experience, and we will cross the Plaza de Azabachería, one of the most important squares around the Cathedral.

There we find the church of La Corticela. The origins of this chapel date back to the 9th century, and it is one of the oldest in Santiago. Perhaps you have passed by without seeing it, but it is full of details that are worth knowing.

We will cross the old Jewish quarter to reach the Plaza de Cervantes, where gruesome events took place during the time of the Holy Inquisition. Both scenarios offer stories that go beyond the typical free tours of Santiago de Compostela.

Our tour will take us to the oldest pub in Santiago, which was once the home of the doctor who introduced X-rays to Galicia. Oh, and we’ll also show you the church where mother Rosalía de Castro died praying. As we said at the beginning, this guided tour of Santiago de Compostela is full of surprising stories!

To finish the walk, we will go into the Alameda, where we will see the statue of the Two Marías (we will tell you the story) and the ‘Tree of Lovers’. From this tree you will enjoy the best view of the whole historical area of Santiago de Compostela and you will take some spectacular photos!

If you liked the tour, do another tour with us!