Pontevedra is situated in the rias baixas (or lower bays) of Galicia and is the region’s most southern sea facing province. The name Pontevedra, refers to both a province and its self titled capitol city. Pontevedra’s largest conurbation is in fact the city of Vigo in a lower bay, south of Pontevedra city.
The City of Pontevedra
The provincial capitol of Pontevedra is located in its own ria (bay) and is bisected by the "rio" (river) "Lerez". The parts of this city that a tourist would want to visit are nearly all on the south side of the river where the original old town is situated.
Getting there
It takes about an hour (60 kilometres) to reach Pontevedra from Santiago de Compostela in neighbouring A Coruna province and you can reach it by the N-550 or, more quickly, by the AP-9 toll motorway at a cost of about 5 euros each way.
When you reach Pontevedra, parking up is not a problem and the easiest solution is to follow signs for the town center and then park in the underground car park directly beneath the "alameda" (town square). This car park is fairly cheap, secure and more importantly easy to find when you are ready to leave. As a minor note of caution, much of Pontevedra has a one way road system and getting out of it requires you to traverse one of its bridges in order to reach the main highway routes on the northern side of the river "Lerez".
Why visit Pontevedra?
From a tourist perspective Pontevedra is becoming increasingly popular with domestic and foreign visitors to Galicia.
The city is famous, historic and has a significant number attractions worth seeing.
So what does Pontevedra have to offer?
Whilst not on the same scale as A Coruna or Santiago de Compostela, Pontevedra has its fair share of historic buildings, churches and monuments, along with plenty of attractive plazas and a large shopping district. Most of the town is on the flat, although the older district requires you to walk up and down a slight incline. Bars and cafes are plentiful and a series of "prazas", or small squares, including the Teucro and Ferreria, punctuate the interlinked streets. Much of this area is also pedestrianised making travel on foot the most convenient and straight forward option.
