Sunday in Santiago: over the cathedral's rooftops and the best view of the city.

Santiago is a good Sunday if you do it in this order: the cathedral from inside, then from above and, at the end of the day, from a distance. You arrive from A Coruña or Pontevedra in an hour, park once and do everything on foot. The one detail to bear in mind is that the Mercado de Abastos is closed on Sundays, so lunch is at the Café de Altamira, on the same street.

The day, hour by hour

9:30 · Set off. From A Coruña or Pontevedra, an hour on the AP-9. Leave the car in a car park on the edge of the old town, which is pedestrianised. If you are coming from A Coruña, the train takes about 30 minutes and saves you parking.

10:30 · The basilica. Go in by the Platerías door, without a rucksack: the basilica is free and opens at 7:00. Visit the tomb of the Apostle and the embrace of the statue of Santiago, in the main chapel. The pilgrims' Mass at 12:00 fills the church; before that, it is peaceful.

12:00 · The roofs. An hour with a guide over the granite roofs and the Carraca tower, at about 72 metres: 140 steps and the whole of Santiago at your feet. It costs €15 and you enter through the reception of the Gelmírez palace, in the Obradoiro, fifteen minutes before the time on your ticket. Buy it beforehand on the Museo Catedral website.

13:30 · Lunch at Café de Altamira. On Rúa das Ameas, opposite the market, a few minutes' walk away. Galician market cooking with a Bib Gourmand. Open on Sundays at midday; book ahead.

15:30 · Cathedral museum. The roofs ticket includes the museum, the Gelmírez palace and the crypt of the Portico. Master Mateo's stone choir and the cloister fill a quiet hour after lunch. It closes at 20:00.

17:30 · The Alameda. Five minutes' walk from the Obradoiro. From the Paseo de la Herradura you see the cathedral head-on above the rooftops: it is the postcard of Santiago, and in the afternoon light, the best.

19:00 · Head home. In A Coruña or Pontevedra around 20:00.

With children, in the rain or with more time

With children, the roofs work very well from about six years old; the reduced rate, for under-12s, costs €12. The Alameda has playgrounds. In the rain, the plan barely changes: basilica, roofs, lunch and museum are all indoors or nearly so. If it is your first visit and you want it explained to you, swap the morning for the Optimus Tours guided visit to the cathedral and museum, from €25. In good weather and with a taste for walking, climb Monte Pedroso instead of going to the Alameda: 40 minutes from Ponte Asén.