Climbing the Tower of Hercules, A Coruña's Roman Lighthouse

The Tower of Hercules is the Roman lighthouse that still lights the entrance to A Coruña. According to excavations, it was built in the second half of the 1st century, and it is still in service. It stands at the northern tip of the peninsula, on a headland of almost 57 metres, at the end of the seafront promenade. The visit climbs inside the tower to the terrace, open to the Atlantic.

What you see inside

What you see outside today is the neoclassical restoration directed by the military engineer Eustaquio Giannini from 1789, but inside the Roman square core is preserved. First you enter the base platform, where the commemorative inscription of Gaius Sevius Lupus, the architect of the work, is kept. Then you climb up the interior to the terrace. The exterior ramp used to climb it in Roman times was lost; its remains turned up in a 1992 excavation and can be seen at the foot of the tower. If you have doubts about accessibility, ask first at the visitor centre (CIAV).

Opening hours, price and booking

From 16 September to 15 June it opens every day from 10:00 to 17:00, with the last sale at 15:45. From 16 June to 15 September, from 10:00 to 21:00, with the last sale at 19:45. Entry is in timed slots: 32 people every half hour from 10:00. General admission costs €3; the reduced price, €1.50, is for under-16s, over-65s, Carné Joven holders, large families and the unemployed with ID. Children under 3 don't pay. On Mondays admission is free, but you still have to collect your ticket at the sales point in the visitor centre (CIAV); it is also free on the third Saturday of each month from October to June.

In summer and on long weekends the slots fill up: buy on the city council's ticket website, where you choose the date and time. It is closed on 24, 25 and 31 December, on 1 and 6 January and on the afternoon of 5 January. In winds of force 7 or more the monument closes, and above force 5, only the terrace.

The monument's website also warns of a closure for work on the electrical installation from 1 October to 15 November. If you go on those dates, check beforehand that it has reopened.

Around the lighthouse

Walking down towards the city along the seafront promenade, the first big building you come to is the Aquarium Finisterrae, and from there you can continue by bike along the promenade to Riazor.