[ad_1]
On August 2, 1999, the Pontevedra City Council declared the pedestrianization of its degraded historic center, beginning its recovery, which has earned it international awards and more tourism, especially foreign tourism: in the last decade it has become the second urban destination that has grown the most in the province after Vigo; In 2019 it had 263,377 overnight stays, 13.6% more than in 2018. To enter its transformation is to walk through its charming squares, which are like the beads of a necklace of winding streets tangled in the inner city.
01. Convent and church of San Francisco
Plaza de la Ferrería
It is the center of the center of Pontevedra. La Ferrería is actually part of a set of three squares –together with the Estrella and Ourense squares– plus the Casto Sampedro gardens, crowned by the convent and the church of San Francisco.
02. ‘I Love Galicia’
Count San Roman, 20
03. Pharmacy of Enrique Eiras
Count San Roman, 26
Opened in 1876, an iconic nineteenth-century apothecary still in operation
04. Bar The Marists
Vegetable Square, 5
The Plaza de la Verdura is the heart of the tapas bars and drinks, and a good epitome of the revitalized historical center of the Galician city. At number 5, the popular Os Maristas bar has reopened, closed since 2019, which carries tradition with modern touches as its flag.
05. Castro Monteagudo, García Flórez and Fernández López buildings
Leña Square
Three of the six buildings of the Provincial Museum of Pontevedra, which were also its seed, are located in the Plaza de la Leña. They have been closed since 2014 awaiting a rehabilitation, in the style of the Parisian Louvre, which will make them grow underneath with a common basement, and which could begin in 2021. The City Council has just acquired the nearby convent of Santa Clara, which will probably be will incorporate as the new museum headquarters. After belonging for 750 years to the congregation of the Poor Clares, the idea of the consistory is that as soon as possible one of the most unknown historical buildings and a fundamental part of the historical heritage of the city can be visited.
06. Pazo de los Gago and Montenegro
Teucro Square
An example of a noble house, with great heraldic wealth, in the very stately Plaza del Teucro.
07. Cao Library
Rúa Sarmiento, 10
The oldest bookstore in Pontevedra, and one of the oldest in Galicia, continues to be, more than 70 years after its opening, a family business. Works with used, rare, out of print and vintage books.
08. House of Muruáis
Méndez Núñez Square
Popularly known as the Casa del Arco, it dates from the 15th century and Admiral Méndez Núñez was born and died there.
09. Basilica of Santa María la Mayor
Santa Maria Square
This temple built in the first half of the 16th century in late Gothic style dominates, imposingly, an elongated square with a lot of mix: skateboarders, children on bikes and terraces.
10. Pazo de Mugartegui
Quarry Plaza, 10
The Regulatory Council of the Rías Baixas Designation of Origin has its headquarters in the Mugartegui pazo, built between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the square of the same name, and which is known as La Pedreira because of the stone work, the work of stonemasons, what it looks like.
11. Gummy plant
Food Market
The vegetable, fish, seafood or meat stalls of the Pontevedra municipal market, on the banks of the River Lérez, are completed with a modern gastro-space on the first floor where some establishments offer to cook the products that their customers buy on the ground floor
12. Plaza de Curros Enríquez
There is a nostalgic charm in the vestiges of Pontevedra’s iconic shops, such as Droguería Moderna or Peral Moda, which have closed in recent years in this square dominated by cafes and fast food outlets.
Find inspiration for your next trips on our Facebook and Twitter and Instragram or subscribe here to the El Viajero Newsletter.
[ad_2]
elviajero.elpais.com
George Holan is chief editor at Plainsmen Post and has articles published in many notable publications in the last decade.
