Private Guided Tour of the Old Town, from María Pita to San Agustín

The Old Town is the oldest district of A Coruña: cobbled streets, Romanesque churches and small squares behind Plaza de María Pita. You can see it on your own, but with a guide you understand in two hours what lies behind each façade. Optimus Tours, the Santiago agency that also works in A Coruña, organises a private two-hour tour that starts from Plaza de María Pita itself.

The route

The tour begins in Plaza de María Pita, laid out in the mid-19th century and dominated by the Town Hall, which the architect Pedro Mariño began in 1908. From there it climbs to Plaza de Azcárraga, one of the quiet little squares of the old town, and to the Romanesque collegiate church of Santa María do Campo. It continues to the San Carlos garden, where the British general Sir John Moore is buried and from where you see the bay with the Castle of San Antón. It then goes down to the A Mariña avenue, the one with the glazed galleries designed by Juan de Ciórraga in the second half of the 19th century, and ends at the San Agustín market, with its parabolic roof from the 1930s.

Along the way there are other stops in the district that the guide can point out: the Romanesque church of Santiago, the Pazo Cornide, former home of Emilia Pardo Bazán's family, or the house of María Pita, which has its own house museum.

Meeting point, price and booking

You meet in Plaza de María Pita, in front of the orange umbrella sculpture; the agency asks you to arrive five minutes early. The tour lasts two hours and is given in Spanish, with a private guide for your group. The price starts at €130; the website doesn't say for how many people, so check when booking, on the Optimus Tours website itself. They recommend booking in advance because places sell out. The agency states that the route is not accessible for people with reduced mobility: the streets are cobbled.

Before or after

The tourist office is in Plaza de María Pita itself, at number 6. When you finish at San Agustín, you are a few minutes from the wine streets of the centre, Estrella, Galera, Barrera and Los Olmos, where you can go for tapas; Turismo de A Coruña recommends weekend evenings and Sunday mornings.