Visit to Ourense Cathedral and the Pórtico do Paraíso

The cathedral of San Martiño stands at the top of the old town, a stone's throw from Praza Maior, and from outside looks more like a fortress than a church. Inside it keeps what justifies the ticket: the Pórtico do Paraíso, three arches of sculpted stone that retain their paint, with prophets, apostles and a Christ in the centre judging the living and the dead. Its authors came from the Santiago workshop and the influence of the Pórtico da Gloria shows, but the figures are calmer; the cathedral's website places it about a century after Master Mateo's.

On your own, with an audio guide

General admission costs €10 for ages 18 to 64 and €9 for over-65s, young people aged 13 to 18 and university students up to age 25; pilgrims pay €7. It includes an audio guide in Spanish, Galician, English, Portuguese, French, German and Italian, with 17 stops: the Pórtico do Paraíso, the main chapel, the lantern tower and the bell tower, among others. Allow a good hour if you want to hear it all.

For children aged 4 to 10 there is a dedicated audio guide, with two characters, Mariña and San Martiño, who suggest looking for fantastic animals on the capitals and solving riddles. It is in Galician, Spanish and English; ask at the ticket office if you want it for a family visit.

The opening hours are Monday to Thursday from 10:00 to 14:30 and from 15:30 to 19:00; Friday and Saturday from 10:00 to 19:00 without a break; and Sunday from 13:30 to 19:00. The last entry is 45 minutes before closing. From 25 April to 3 May, during the novena of the Santo Cristo, the hours change. It is closed on 24, 25 and 31 December and on 1 January. Tickets are bought at the ticket office or in the cathedral's online shop.

With an official guide

If you prefer someone to tell you about the building, Genuine Galicia, an Ourense company, runs two tours with the ticket already paid:

• Cathedral only, one to two hours, for €12 per adult, €6 for ages 13 to 17 and free up to age 12. It leaves at 13:00 and in the afternoon at 16:30 or 17:30. It covers the Pórtico, the Baroque Santo Cristo chapel and the Gothic high altarpiece by Cornelis de Holanda.
• Old town plus cathedral, two to three hours, for €16 per adult and €10 for ages 13 to 17. It leaves at 11:30 and 16:30 and adds the San Francisco cloister and the churches of the Trinidad, Santo Domingo and Santa Eufemia.

Both are booked in advance, on their website or on +34 675 558 545, and meet in Praza de San Martiño, in front of the steps of the façade, where the municipal tourist office now is. There are departures in seven languages if you ask ahead. The company warns that a service in the cathedral may change the route.

Before or after

If you want more height, on Fridays and Saturdays the cathedral opens its rooftops in small groups. On the way down you are in the heart of Os Viños: Praza de Santa Eufemia, at the foot of the cathedral, is the last stop on that tapas route. As Burgas is five minutes' walk away.