The Fundación Catedral office here gives out free tickets for unguided visits to the cathedral's Pórtico de la Gloria between 7pm and 8pm Monday to Saturday. Fifty general-public tickets are available each day, on a first-come-first-served basis, for 15-minute visits to the Pórtico between 7pm and 8pm the following day (tickets given out on Saturday are for Monday). Take your ID document.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Catedral de Santiago de Compostela
0.07 MILES
The grand heart of Santiago, the cathedral soars above the city in a splendid jumble of spires and sculpture. Built piecemeal over several centuries, its…
Praza do Obradoiro
0.11 MILES
The grand square in front of the cathedral's western facade earned its name (Workshop Sq) from the stonemasons' workshops set up here while the cathedral…
Castro de Baroña
27.89 MILES
Galicia's most spectacularly sited prehistoric settlement is poised majestically on a wind-blasted headland overlooking the Atlantic waves, 4km southwest…
Nearby Santiago de Compostela attractions
1. Casa do Cabido
0.01 MILES
Along the lower side of the Praza das Praterías, the baroque Casa do Cabildo is no more than a 3m-deep facade erected in the 1750s at the behest of the…
2. Museo das Peregrinacións e de Santiago
0.02 MILES
The brightly displayed Museum of Pilgrimages and Santiago gives fascinating insights into the phenomenon of Santiago (man, city and pilgrimage) down the…
3. Praza das Praterías
0.02 MILES
'Silversmiths' Square' is centred on an elegant 1825 fountain, the Fuente de los Caballos, a popular photo op, with the cathedral's Romanesque south…
4. Fuente de los Caballos
0.02 MILES
The plaza on the cathedral's south side focuses on Fuente de los Caballos fountain (1825), a popular photo op, with four elegant horses surmounted by a…
5. Praza de Fonseca
0.04 MILES
South of the cathedral, stop in cafe-lined Praza de Fonseca to look into the Colexio de Fonseca with its beautiful Renaissance courtyard; this was the…
6. Colexio de Fonseca
0.05 MILES
Just south of the cathedral, the Colexio de Fonseca, with a beautiful Renaissance courtyard and two exhibition galleries, was the original seat of…
7. Praza da Quintana
0.06 MILES
Broad Praza da Quintana opens up outside the cathedral's eastern end. The cathedral's Puerta Santa here is opened only in holy years: it's flanked by 24…
8. Puerta Santa
0.06 MILES
The cathedral's Puerta Santa, giving access to the cathedral from Praza da Quintana, is opened only in holy years (2021, 2027). Constructed between 1611…