Lugo: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
The Romans founded Lucus Augusti in the time of the emperor Augustus, and about three centuries later wrapped it in a wall that still stands complete. Inside it the city is compact: the cathedral, two squares, a Roman house under a modern one, and a museum in an old convent are all within ten minutes of each other. This walk takes about two hours. Start at the Roman gate in the morning and finish at the Praza Maior as the tapas bars open.
A short history of Lugo
Lugo was founded at the end of the 1st century BC as a Roman camp called Lucus Augusti, after the Emperor Augustus, and became one of the most important towns of Roman Gallaecia. At the end of the 3rd century CE the Romans surrounded it with a wall more than two kilometres long, with dozens of towers, and it is the only complete Roman wall in the world still preserved around an entire town. You can walk along it all the way round the old town. In the Middle Ages a cathedral was built here in which the consecrated Host has been permanently exposed for centuries, which gives the city a special status in the Church. In 2000 the wall was declared a World Heritage Site.
The ten best sights in Lugo
1Roman WallsA complete Roman city wall you can walk on top of, all the way round
2Lugo CathedralRomanesque at heart, Baroque outside; the host is on permanent display
3Provincial MuseumRoman finds and Galician art in a former Franciscan convent; free
4Casa dos MosaicosFloors of a Roman house under a modern building, with the sea god Oceanus
5Roman BathsRoman bath rooms inside a spa hotel by the river; ask at reception
6Museo Interactivo da HistoriaThe city's history on screens and models, 20 minutes' walk north
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7Santalla de Bóveda
A mysterious late-Roman room with painted birds, 15 minutes by car
8Castro de ViladongaA walled hill village with a good small museum, 25 minutes north-east
9Monastery of SamosA huge Benedictine monastery on the Camino Francés, 45 minutes south-east
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10Vilar de Donas
A small church of the Knights of Santiago with medieval frescoes
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Lugo →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Lugo:
Free walking tours in Lugo
Inside the walls
The Romans founded Lucus Augusti in the time of the emperor Augustus, and about three centuries later wrapped it in a wall that still stands complete. Inside it the city is compact: the cathedral, two squares, a Roman house under a modern one, and a museum in an old convent are all within ten minutes of each other. This walk takes about two hours. Start at the Roman gate in the morning and finish at the Praza Maior as the tapas bars open.
- Porta Miñá · Several of the ten gates in the wall were opened in modern times; this is the one that best keeps its Roman form, an arch between two towers. It faces west, down the hill towards the river.
- Lugo Cathedral · Lugo has an old privilege: the consecrated host is on display in its cathedral day and night, all year. That is why the chalice and host appear on the coat of arms of the city, and also on the coat of arms of Galicia.
- Praza do Campo · This small sloping square is thought to be the site of the Roman forum, the oldest public space in the city. Its fountain and arcaded houses mark the start of the streets where Lugo goes out for tapas.
- Casa dos Mosaicos · Builders digging a basement found the floors of a rich Roman house, and the new building was raised over them. The main mosaic shows Oceanus, god of the sea, with claws growing from his head like a crab's.
- Praza Maior · The long square runs beside the wall, and one side is closed by the 18th-century Baroque town hall with a clock tower. Summer concerts and the June Arde Lucus festival, when the city dresses up as Romans and Celts, fill it every year.
- Provincial Museum · The museum fills the old Franciscan convent, including its cloister and its kitchen. Look for the Roman finds from the city and the large collection of Sargadelos ceramics, the blue-and-white Galician porcelain first fired in 1806.
On the wall and down to the Miño
Lugo's wall is about two kilometres round and wide enough to walk on, and doing the full circuit is the best way to understand the city. From the wall this route drops out of the old town to the river Miño, crossing the Roman-founded bridge and ending at the hot springs the Romans bathed in. About two and a half hours on foot, with a steep climb back; the wall is lit at night and open all hours.
- Porta de San Pedro · This is the gate on the road from Oviedo, and pilgrims on the Camino Primitivo, the oldest route to Santiago, still enter the old city here. Their road crosses the town and leaves by the river on the far side.
- Roman Walls · Built in the late 3rd century, the wall runs for about 2.1 km and keeps more than 80 of its towers. In 2000 UNESCO listed it as the finest example of late Roman fortifications in western Europe, and it is the only Roman city wall to survive complete.
- Parque Rosalía de Castro · The park is named after Rosalía de Castro, whose 'Cantares gallegos' of 1863 was the first great book of modern poetry in Galician. Its terraces look down over the Miño valley.
- Paseo do Miño · The Miño is the longest river in Galicia, and in Lugo it is still young, flowing through woods below the town. A riverside path follows it for kilometres in both directions, and the whole valley is part of the Terras do Miño biosphere reserve.
- Ponte Vella · The bridge was first built by the Romans, and what you walk on today is the result of medieval and later rebuilding on their foundations. Pilgrims on the Camino Primitivo cross it as they leave Lugo for Santiago.
- Roman Baths · Hot water rises here at about 44°C, and the Romans built baths over the spring soon after founding the city. Some of their vaulted rooms survive inside the spa hotel, where the water is still used.
Roman rooms and pilgrim roads
The country around Lugo is green, quiet and crossed by two Caminos to Santiago. This route by car links a late-Roman temple, a hill village of the same age, a medieval castle and three stops on the pilgrim roads. It covers about 200 km in a long loop, so split it if you can; many small sites close at lunchtime and on Mondays.
- Santalla de Bóveda · The half-buried room under a village church was found in 1926, its vault painted with birds, leaves and lattices. Nobody is sure what it was — a temple, a bath or an early Christian baptistery — and it is dated to the late Roman period.
- Castro de Viladonga · Unlike many castros, Viladonga was still lived in during the late Roman centuries, and its ditches and ramparts are among the best preserved in Galicia. The museum on site displays the coins, jewellery and pottery found in the houses.
- Torre dos Andrade, Vilalba · The octagonal keep is all that remains of the castle of the Andrade family, lords of this part of Galicia in the 15th century. It is now part of a parador, and you can have a coffee inside the thick walls.
- Vilar de Donas · This was a church of the Knights of the Order of Santiago, who protected pilgrims, and some of them are buried inside. Its apse keeps 15th-century frescoes, including elegant ladies thought to be the donas of the name.
- Portomarín · When the Belesar dam was built in the 1960s, the old town on the Miño was flooded. Its main church was taken down stone by stone and rebuilt on the hill above, and the numbers painted on the blocks can still be seen.
- Monastery of Samos · One of the oldest monasteries in Spain, founded in the early Middle Ages and still home to Benedictine monks. Pilgrims on the Camino Francés stop here, and the monks guide visitors through its two great cloisters.
Getting to Lugo and getting around
- Lugo Railway Station · Trains to A Coruña, Ourense and Madrid; the station area is being rebuilt as a transport hub
- Lugo Bus Station · Just outside the walls; buses to Santiago, Oviedo and the villages
Cheap eats in Lugo
Lugo eats from the farms of inland Galicia: Galician beef, potatoes, chestnuts, and soft cheeses like San Simón and Arzúa-Ulloa. The famous octopus, pulpo á feira, is a fair dish here, cooked in copper pots and served on wooden plates with paprika and olive oil. The quickest meal is the tapas round — a drink with a free tapa, for a few euros a glass.
- Cafetaría Plaza Mayor · Coffee and toast on the main square, about 2-4 €
- Churrería Don Pepe · Churros and chocolate for breakfast, about 3-5 €
- La Casa de las Empanadas · Slices of Galician empanada to take away, about 3-5 €
- Ousá · Bakery for bread and pastries, about 1-4 €
- Bico de Xeado · Galician ice cream made with local milk, about 3-5 €
- A Tasca · A glass of wine with a free tapa on Rúa da Cruz, about 2-3 €
- Os Pepe's · Café and pastry shop near the wall, about 2-5 €
Museums in Lugo
- Provincial Museum · Roman finds, Galician painting and Sargadelos ceramics; free entry
- Casa dos Mosaicos · Roman mosaics of a rich town house, seen from walkways
- Roman Baths · Vaulted Roman rooms in the spa by the river
- Museo Interactivo da Historia · The city's past told with screens and models
- Sala de Exposicións Porta Miñá · Exhibitions on Roman Lugo beside the old gate
- Castro de Viladonga Museum · Finds from the hill village, on site
Nature and day trips near Lugo
- Paseo do Miño · Riverside paths and woods below the old town
- Parque Rosalía de Castro · Gardens, a pond and the best view of the valley
- Cabo do Mundo · A viewpoint over a great river loop, about an hour south
- Os Ancares · Mountain biosphere reserve on the border with León
- Ribas do Miño, Muimenta · A river park and picnic spot on the upper Miño
Things to do in Lugo with kids
- Roman Walls · A 2-km walk on top of a Roman wall, free and open all hours
- Museo Interactivo da Historia · Screens and models for a rainy afternoon
- Casa dos Mosaicos · Find the sea god with crab claws
- Pazo de Tor · A manor house museum with a stone maze in the garden
- Castro de Viladonga · Walls, ditches and house foundations to climb around
Where to eat in Lugo
- Orixe do Campo · Galician cooking on Praza do Campo
- Mesón da Rúa · Tavern food in the tapas streets
- Campos · Tapas and raciones on Rúa Nova
- Casa Rivas · Restaurant on the south side of the old town
- Tirabeque · Modern Galician plates near the cathedral
- O Tentáculo · Octopus and seafood in the tapas zone
Frequently asked questions about Lugo
What is there to see in Lugo?
The top sights in Lugo are Roman Walls, Lugo Cathedral and Provincial Museum. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Lugo?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Lugo without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Lugo?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Lugo, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: Inside the walls.
How do you get to Lugo and get around?
The main ways are Lugo Railway Station and Lugo Bus Station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Lugo, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Lugo that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Lugo for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.