Vigo

Introduction

Vigo

© Sandee7983

Vigo is the largest city in the Spanish region of Galicia, and the capital of the province called Pontevedra. It is however not the capital of Galicia, making it the largest city in Spain that is not a regional capital. Vigo is an important port town, and has the largest fishing port in Europe.

Neighbourhoods

The city has 23 neighbourhoods, or parroquias, as they are called in Galicia (meaning roughly the same as Parishes).

Sights and Activities

• The old historic centre of the city.
• Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park, including the Cíes Islands.
• The Port
• Co-Cathedral of Santa Maria de Vigo.
• Romanesque church of Santa Maria de Castelos.
• Church of Santiago de Bembrive.
• Church of San Salvador de Coruxo.
• Museum of Castrelos.
• Catch a football game at Balaídos Stadium, home of Celta de Vigo.
• MARCO: Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Vigo (Contemporary Art Museum) - Address: Príncipe 54 | 36202 Vigo, Phone: +34 986 113 900, Hours: Tuesdays-Saturdays: 11:00am– 2:30pm and 5:00pm–9:00pm; Sundays: 11:00am-2:30pm

Weather

The weather of Vigo is typical of Galicia, meaning that it rains a lot. In June, July and August you can expect the lowest rainfall (still around 30-40 mm per month). But from October to January this can be multiplied by 4 or 5 times this amount. In summer the average temperature in Vigo is around 24 °C - 25 °C. In winter the temperatures don't go below 6 °C at night, and around 12 °C during the day. This is a bit warmer than other towns in Galicia.

Getting There

By Plane

Vigo Peinador Airport (IATA: VGO, ICAO: LEVX) is situated 8 kilometres to east of the city centre. Flights are carried out by Iberia or its sister company Air Nostrum. Others include Air Europa, Vueling and Air France. It is possible to fly to Vigo from Madrid, Valencia, Tenerife-South, Bilbao, Barcelona and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The only international cities linked to Vigo so far are Paris and Brussels.

By Train

For information and timetables, check the website of Renfe. There is direct train to/from Porto (Portugal) twice a day (€14, 3 hours) and to several other Spanish cities - Santiago de Compostela (hourly, 1.30 hours, €9), Madrid (twice a day, €50), Bilbao (one per day, €48), Pontevedra (several times a day, €3, 30 minutes)

By Car

Vigo is linked to the centre of Spain by the A-52 motorway, which connects to the A-6 that leads to Madrid. The AP-9 leads to Santiago de Compostela and A Coruña. The A-55 connects to the border with Portugal, where it continues as the A-3 to Braga and Porto.

By Boat

Local ferries sail from neighbouring villages (Cangas and Moaña).

Eat

Try the amazing Tortilla and empanadillas at Bar Carballo.

Drink

Queimada is an alcoholic beverage of Galician tradition.

Queimada's characteristic blue fire.Queimada has origins in the Pagan festivals of Galicia. It is a punch made from Galician aguardiente (Orujo Gallego) - a spirit distilled from wine and flavoured with herbs or coffee, plus sugar, lemon peel, coffee beans and cinnamon.

Traditionally while preparing the punch a spell or incantation is recited, so that special powers are conferred to the queimada and those drinking it. Then the queimada is set alight, and slowly burns as more brandy is added.

Sleep

Learn

• Vigo University

Keep Connected

Internet

Internet is widely available within Spain. Most airports have wifi-zones and in most towns there are internet cafés or shops where you can use internet for a fixed price. Wi-Fi points in bars and cafeterias are available after ordering, and most hotels offer Wi-Fi connection in common areas for their guests.

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

The international access code for Spain is +34. The emergency number for police, ambulance and the fire brigade is 112.

In cities you can find plenty of public phones, and 'locutorios'. The latter are small shops where you can use the phone and use internet. Most of them also sell prepaid cards for mobile telephones. These shops are used a lot by foreigners to call to their mother country.

The main mobile network operators in Spain are Yoigo, Vodafone, Movistar and Orange, as in most of Europe voice and data coverage is generally good in urban areas however it can be patchy in rural locations. Cheap mobile phones (less than €50) with some pre-paid minutes are sold at FNAC or any phone operator's shop (Vodafone, Movistar, Orange). Topping-up is then done by buying scratch cards from the small stores, supermarkets, vending points (often found in tobacco shops) or kiosks.

Post

If you want to post a card, you can head to the post office (Correos). The Spanish post is not yet as efficient as colleagues in other countries so receiving a card can take a bit longer than the number of days that it should take. On the website of Correos, you can find the locations of nearby post offices.
Post offices are generally open from 8:30am to 2:00pm, although times will vary according to the size of the city/town and the main post offices might be open until the early evening. Most will also open again on Saturday mornings, but in the smaller towns will close as early as 12 noon. When posting a letter, look for a yellow box and, if possible, post at the post office itself where there will also be divisions for local, national and international mail. Be prepared for long queues at the post office. This is why tobacco shops sell stamps and many will also have the facility to weigh packages. Standard letters/postcards of up to 20 grams sent within Spain are €0.34. However, non-standard letters/postcards of up to 20g are €0.39. Letters/postcards of 20 to 50 grams are €0.45. In the case of international shipping, the price is €0.64 to most countries within Europe for standard envelopes (letters/postcards) up to 20g, for a few European countries and outside Europe it is €0.78. If you want to send a package you are probably better off with a private courier company like TNT, DHL or UPS, as they offer quick and reliable services against competitive prices.

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