Camino de Santiago trail

Just outside the city, this working monastery of Cistercian nuns has striking Mudejar (Moorish Christian) features, royal tombs, a museum of medieval textiles and a 13th-century tapestry. It’s also been the site of several royal weddings.

This extraordinarily ornate castle-towered gate was rebuilt in the 16th century by Emperor Charles V to thank the city for its support against a revolt. It houses a museum of antique pharmaceutical equipment and special exhibitions.

A World Heritage site, the Gothic cathedral of Burgos was first built in 1221, then embellished in the 15th, 16th and 18th centuries. Today, it is one of the great art-filled treasure houses of Spain, preserving many extraordinary works.

Many pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela continue 90km west of the end of the trail, to the mystical ‘end of the world’ to watch the sun set from the lighthouse over the Costa da Morte (Coast of death).

In pre-Christian Celtic times, rites were performed at the Ara Solis, the sun altar, and it was believed that the living could meet the dead here before they set sail on stone boats to the end of the Milky Way. Christians come to worship the miraculous statue of the Christ of the Golden Beard at the church of Santa Maria das Areas on the road to the headland.

A Romanesque and Baroque jewel, Santiago’s mighty cathedral offers a fitting climax to the end of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage.

The first church, begun after 814 and discovery of the body of St James, was burned by the Moors in 997, although they left the holy relics intact. The current cathedral dates from 1075, and in 1188, sculptor Master Mateo completed its sublime Portico da la Gloria.

One façade wasn’t enough, though; a spectacular encasing Baroque façade was added in the 18th Century. At the head of the 97m nave is the wildly ornate baldachin and altar over the crypt holding the saintly relics. Suspended from the crossing is the 80kg Botafumeiro, the incense ‘smoke-spreader’—the world’s largest censer.

A striking Gothic church with a magnificent portal, rose window in its massive tower, a flamboyant choir and a 14th-century cloister; it also houses a museum of elaborate retablos (painted wooden altarpieces).

Along the Camino west of Burgos, the small village of Fromista – a major stopping over point for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago – is home to the ‘perfect Romanesque church’ – the golden San Martin, founded in 1066.

This 12th-century church is famed for a superb Romanesque portal (doorway surround), with Christ in Majesty with heavenly hosts and Elders of the Apocalypse.

Built in the 12th century, this is the oldest church in Estella, ‘the town of the Star’ on the Camino. It is believed to house the shoulder blade of Saint Andrew.

A 10th-century church famed for both its tomb of Saint Isidoro, and the extraordinary 11th-century, mural-covered Royal Pantheon. This funeral chapel of the kings of Leon is nothing less than the ‘Sistine Chapel of Romanesque Art’.

Towering next to Astorga Cathedral is Gaudi’s typically-visually-fascinating castle-like Episcopal Palace (1889–93), originally built for the town’s wealthy bishop. Today, it houses a Museum of Religious Art, dedicated to the Camino de Santiago.

One of Gaudi’s earliest buildings, the stone-built, turreted Casa Botines (1893) is now a museum dedicated to the architect himself.

Nicknamed ‘The House of Light’, Leon’s soaring Gothic cathedral dating back to the 18th century, has walls made of some of Europe’s best-preserved medieval stained glass.

This former Carthusian monastery, dating back to 1442, was built on a hill just outside the city of Burgos. The structure was completed by Queen Isabella in 1484, and now contains the extraordinary intricate tombs of her parents sculpted by Gil de Siloe.

The fortress-like 15th-century Monastery of Santa Maria la Real was founded on the site of a miracle. It houses a lace-like Plateresque Cloister of the Knights, rare medieval royal tombs, and an exquisite Isabelline Gothic choir in the holy cave.

Dedicated to human origins and the latest theories on evolution, this contemporary museum displays many original fossils – including the oldest humanoid bones discovered in Europe discovered in the nearby Atapuerca mountains.

Housed in a former convent, this ethnographic museum is dedicated to the cultural heritage of Galicia. Learn about the local culture through their exhibits of traditional costumes, archaeological finds, music, crafts and artworks. Don’t miss the famous triple spiral staircase, beautiful garden and sculpture by Chillida.

The four-storey museum, housed in an old, 16th-century hospital, is home to regional artworks from prehistoric times to the 20th century. It’s packed with gems, including Roman mosaics, Romanesque sculpture, Gothic murals, and a portrait by Goya.

This famous Camino stop at 1300m attracts pilgrims for its 9th-century pre-Romanesque church housing the ‘Holy Grail’ – a 9th-century chalice used in the ‘Miracle of the Eucharist’. Also look out for the unusual oval pre-Roman houses called pallozas, dating back 1,500 years to Celtic times.

A soaring Gothic cathedral famed for its elegant cloister and 15th-century alabaster tomb of Carlos III of Navarra, a former king of Navarra. Climb the bell tower and stop by the small museum housing religious treasures.

The famously 1,450m pass over the Pyrenees in Navarra has seen more than its share of history. It’s where Charlemagne’s nephew Roland was famously ambushed by the Basques in the 778 Battle of Roncevaux (see the Chanson de Roland); Napoleon invaded this way, too, hence the name Route Napoleon.

Ascending from St-Jean-Pied-de Port, it also marks the first stage of the Camino Frances in Spain. It’s the hardest but one of most spectacular stages of the pilgrimage – an essential stop imbued with memories of the millions of pilgrims who passed through over the millennia.

The landmark 13th-century Gothic church, the Royal Colegiata was inspired by Notre Dame in Paris; along with its Treasures Museum, it offers a fascinating hodgepodge of legendary relics, paintings, manuscripts and goldwork associated with the Camino. One of the most astonishing sights is the effigy on the tomb of King Sancho the Strong, who really stood 7ft 4 and won a famous Reconquista battle in 1212.

Lugo is home to the only complete and intact Roman city defensive walls anywhere in the Roman Empire. Built circa 276 AD to defend the town against local tribesmen and Germanic invaders, they encircle the inner city. 2kms long, with 10 doors and 85 towers.

An important stop along the pilgrim’s route through Spain, the Camino de Santiago, La Calzada grew up as an aristocratic little town around its elegant 12th-century cathedral.

The town is a treasure trove of Spanish art and architecture, with monasteries (one is now a parador or luxury hotel), Medieval and Renaissance churches and palaces, and – just outside town – the Rioja Botanical Gardens.