Santiago Cathedral and the Portico of Glory

The cathedral is the goal of every Camino and the building that gave rise to the city. The basilica is open every day from 7:00 to 21:00 and admission is free; you enter by the Platerías door, without backpacks. Inside are the tomb of the Apostle and, at the high altar, the embrace of the image of Saint James. The Portico of Glory, however, is seen with a ticket and time slot.

A little history

According to tradition, the hermit Paio found the apostle's tomb in the year 814, in the forest of Libredón. On top of earlier churches, including the one Almanzor destroyed in 997, the basilica that survives today was begun in 1075: Romanesque, with a Latin cross plan. Between 1168 and 1188 Master Mateo solved the slope of the ground and closed the west façade with the Portico of Glory, and in 1211 it was consecrated. The 17th and 18th centuries dressed it in Baroque: Domingo de Andrade raised the Clock Tower and Fernando de Casas y Novoa finished the Obradoiro façade in 1750.

What to see inside

The main nave is 94 metres long and its barrel vault rises to 24. Walk the perimeter to the ambulatory and the chapel of the Saviour, where work began in 1075. At the high altar, beneath the Baroque canopy, is the 13th-century image of the Apostle that pilgrims embrace; below, in the crypt, the 19th-century silver chest with the remains of Saint James and two disciples. Look also for the pre-Romanesque baptismal font from which, according to tradition, Almanzor's horse drank, and the 18th-century organs, still in use. The Holy Door, in Praza da Quintana, is only opened in Holy Years, when 25 July falls on a Sunday.

If you coincide with a celebration, you may see the botafumeiro fly: a silver-plated brass censer from 1851, 160 cm tall and weighing about 60 kilos, which eight men, the tiraboleiros, swing through the transept up to 68 km/h.

Masses and rules

The pilgrims' Masses are at 7:30, 9:30, 12:00 and 19:30, and no visiting is allowed during services. On summer Saturdays the basilica closes at 20:30 for the pilgrims' vigil. Backpacks are not allowed in.

The Portico of Glory

The crowning work of Romanesque sculpture, with more than 200 figures by Master Mateo, is seen with a ticket and time slot from the Cathedral Museum: about 25 minutes at most, with an audio guide in Spanish, Galician or English, headphones and a leaflet. It is bought at the ticket offices on Praza do Obradoiro or on its website; you leave through the crypt reception. Photography is not allowed and it closes during liturgical services.

The full museum visit, which adds the Portico, the roofs and the other spaces, costs €23 (€19 reduced). For the museum on its own, see the Cathedral Museum and Gelmírez palace; to go up on the roofs, the cathedral roofs; and if you prefer to have it explained to you, the guided visit to the cathedral and its museum.