Praza do Obradoiro

The Praza do Obradoiro is the great square in front of the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela and the place where the Camino de Santiago comes to an end. For more than a thousand years, pilgrims have walked here from all over Europe to venerate the tomb of the apostle James, and for most of them, arriving in this square, after weeks on the road, is the emotional climax of the journey. Many drop their backpacks, lie on the granite paving and look up at the towers of the cathedral, and the scene of tired, happy walkers hugging and taking photographs is one of the great sights of Spain. The name Obradoiro, from a Galician word for workshop, recalls the masons' workshops that stood here when the cathedral was being built in the Middle Ages.

The square is framed by four buildings of different periods, which is what gives it its unique harmony. On the east side rises the cathedral, and its west front, the Obradoiro façade, is a Baroque masterpiece of the eighteenth century by the architect Fernando de Casas y Novoa. Its two tall towers, rich carving and sweeping double staircase wrap the older Romanesque porch behind them in a theatrical screen, and the granite glows golden in the evening light. On the north side stands the Hostal dos Reis Católicos, founded by the Catholic Monarchs in 1499 as a hospital for pilgrims, with a splendid Plateresque doorway, and now a luxury Parador hotel, often described as one of the oldest hotels in the world.

On the west side, the Pazo de Raxoi, a long neoclassical building of the 1770s, houses the town hall and the regional government. On the south, the Colegio de San Xerome, a former college of the university, has a fine Romanesque doorway that was moved here from an older building. The four buildings represent Romanesque, Renaissance, Neoclassical and Baroque architecture, and the square is a visual lesson in the history of Spanish building styles. The paving, in grey granite with a pattern marking the way, adds to the unity of the space.

The atmosphere changes through the day. In the morning, the square is quiet and often misty, since Santiago is one of the rainiest cities in Spain. At midday, a pilgrims' mass is held in the cathedral, and groups gather. In the evening, students, musicians and tourists fill the square. The area is pedestrian, and access for vehicles is limited. The Mercado de Abastos, the city's market, is a short walk away, and the old town streets lead off in all directions.

The square is free and open at all hours. It suits everyone, and the best times are early morning, for peace, and sunset, for light.