At the northwest corner of the Iberian Peninsula lies the Spanish region of Galicia. The land offers the visitor beautiful, intensely green landscapes, high forested hills, mountains, and vineyards. A shoreline similar to fjords whereby the estuaries  known locally as Rías provide dramatic coastal scenery.

Galicia is famous for its great food. The seafood and fish here is hard to match in terms of quality and diversity. Think vieiras (scallops) mexillónes (mussels) xoubas (sardines), centollas (spider crabs) and pulpo – Galicia’s most famous dish may be Pulpo a la Gallega (Octopus dressed in olive oil and paprika). There is also an abundance of local meat dishes, and a tradition of making cured hams and sausages. Rich and buttery local cheeses like the Tetilla are a good match for the local Albariño white wines , thanks to its spritzy quality and peachy fruit. Visitors to Santiago will find many excellent bistro-style eating house to savour Galego food and wine, stylish as well as traditional wine bars serving fine local white wines and fruit-driven reds are plentiful.

Galicia has many beautiful historic sites, with the spectacular city of Santiago de Compostela very close to the Rías Baixas wine region a key attraction. This is certainly one of the most beautiful cities in all Spain. It is a famous ancient pilgrimage center and, thanks to a large and lively student population, remarkably unstuffy. There are many great places to eat and drink.

In a densely packed historic town, Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque buildings that grew around the St James Cathedral make for a very atmospheric cityscape – UNESCO World Heritage listed. Yet, it does not mean that the city got stuck in time. Through careful architectural additions a modern side to Santiago has been created with eye-pleasing projects from acclaimed architects Álvaro Siza and Peter Eisenman.

Galicia has some unique wine regions, like Ribeira Sacra, Valdeorras and Rías Baixas. The wines made in the lush and green coastal zone of Rías Baixas of Galicia are arguably Spain’s best whites. The main grape here is the aromatic Albariño, other varieties include Treixadura and Loureiro. Albariño wines with their fresh, peachy fruit are often drunk young, but then wines made from old vines tend to have excellent capacity for aging. The vines are trained on pergolas, so that the grapes are shaded from the sun during the hottest part of the year, and are far enough off the ground to protect them from roaming wild animals.