Monterreal Fortress and the Monte Boi Walk, in Baiona

Baiona is best viewed from Monterreal, the walled peninsula that closes its bay to the west. It is 18 hectares surrounded by three kilometres of walls built between the 11th and 17th centuries, with the Parador inside and the Cíes islands on the horizon. You can walk it in two ways: outside, at the foot of the wall and beside the sea, along the Monte Boi walk, or inside, through the enclosure and its towers. It fits well into the day of anyone leaving on or returning from the Baiona boat to the Cíes.

The Monte Boi walk, at the foot of the wall

The Concello de Baiona describes it as a route of almost two kilometres that goes around much of the base of the fortress. It starts at A Cuncheira beach and ends at the Clock Tower, beside the Royal Gate, which is the entrance to the enclosure. It runs outside the enclosure, between the sea and the stone, and was opened in 1995. Allow an hour or a bit more at a relaxed pace, with stops to look.

If it feels like too little, the Blue Trail of the Baiona coast follows the shore for 6 km, from A Concheira to Foz do Miñor, along the paths of Monte Boi, the sands and the marinas.

Inside: three towers and the Parador

The Concello says the fortress can be visited any day of the year, and Turismo Rías Baixas gives hours of 8:00 to 21:00. The wall preserves three towers:

• Clock Tower, at the entrance, which hid a bell to sound the alarm.
• Tenaza Tower, to the east, with the battery that defended the port.
• Príncipe Tower, to the west, above the bay. Perhaps the oldest; it served as a lighthouse for ships and has three coats of arms.

The peninsula has been known as a walled enclosure for more than two thousand years. In the 18th century it was the residence of the Count of Gondomar, and in 1963 the State bought it to make the Parador, which is still inside. It is a Bien de Interés Cultural (protected heritage site). If you want to sleep surrounded by the wall, it is the Parador de Baiona; for a bite with views, its Enxebre A Pinta. Neither the Concello nor Turismo Rías Baixas publishes an entry price for the enclosure; if you want to confirm, the phone number given in the listing is the Parador's, 986 355 000.

When to go and how to get there

At the end of the afternoon, with low light over the bay and the Cíes silhouetted to the west. In summer the Mar de Ons boat to the islands leaves from the Baiona Estación Marítima, in the same port, so the walk fits before the morning boat or on your return. For parking, the A Palma car park is next to the port.