People have been walking here for more than a thousand years, and we do not know whether the body buried under the cathedral really is the apostle's. That changed nothing. Thirteen stops following the pilgrim's last steps: the gate of the Camino, the giant monastery, the jet facade, the Obradoiro, the hospital of the Catholic Monarchs, the compostela office, Saint James the Moor-slayer, the Portico of Glory, the tomb and the botafumeiro, the Holy Door, Platerías, the street of the French and the market. Approximate audio duration: 26 minutes.
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Santiago de Compostela: el Camino y la tumba que nadie puede probar
Hace más de mil años que se camina hasta acá, y no sabemos si el cuerpo enterrado bajo la catedral es realmente el del apóstol. Eso no cambió nada. Trece paradas siguiendo los últimos pasos del peregrino: la puerta del Camino, el monasterio gigante, la fachada del azabache, el Obradoiro, el hospital de los Reyes Católicos, la oficina de la compostela, el Santiago Matamoros, el Pórtico de la Gloria, la tumba y el botafumeiro, la Puerta Santa, Platerías, la calle de los franceses y el mercado. Duración aproximada de audio: 26 minutos.
Tour stops
13 stops · ~26 min of audio · 2.27 km on foot (~35 min walking) · about 1 h 15 min in total
You are at the Porta do Camiño, the gate of the Way. Almost nothing remains of the medieval wall, but this is where pilgrims coming along the French Way, the busiest route, entered the city. Look around you: backpacks, walking sticks, worn boots, hanging shells.
Many of them have been walking for weeks. For most people the French Way starts at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, on the other side of the Pyrenees: about eight hundred kilometres. Others arrive from Portugal, from the Cantabrian coast, from Oviedo.
People have been walking here for more than a thousand years. In the Middle Ages they came …
2
The Monastery That Lived off the Camino
You are in front of the monastery of San Martiño Pinario. Look at the size: after the cathedral, it is the largest religious building in Santiago. It occupies a whole block, with three cloisters and a church with an overflowing Baroque altarpiece.
It began as a small community of Benedictine monks who, according to tradition, settled beside the tomb shortly after its discovery. Over the centuries, the monastery became immensely rich: it owned lands, rents and rights over much of Galicia.
Much of that wealth came from the Camino. Pilgrims left alms, kings made donations to secure the apostle'…
3
Jet and an Ambitious Bishop
You are in the Azabachería square, in front of the north facade of the cathedral. The name comes from the azabacheros, the craftsmen who worked jet, a black stone polished until it shines. Here they sold amulets and figures of Saint James to pilgrims.
It was the souvenir trade of the Middle Ages. Every pilgrim wanted to take something home: a shell, a medal, a jet figure to protect against the evil eye. There are still jet shops in these streets today.
Now look to your left, at the passage that goes down under an arch: it is the Bishop's Arch, running through the Pazo de Xelmírez. This is wh…
4
Kilometre Zero
You are in the Obradoiro square. Turn around and look at the cathedral facade: towers almost seventy-five metres high, granite covered in golden lichen, a Baroque explosion of columns, statues and windows. In the centre, Saint James dressed as a pilgrim.
Now look at the people. Pilgrims lying on the ground, leaning on their backpacks, gazing at the facade in silence. Some cry, others hug, others take off their boots. For many, this is the end of a journey of weeks. Look in the centre of the square for the slab with the shell: kilometre zero.
The word Obradoiro means workshop. During the buil…
5
A Hospital for Pilgrims
You are in front of the Hostal de los Reyes Católicos. Look at the doorway: coats of arms, carved chains, saints, Adam and Eve, the busts of Isabella and Ferdinand. It is Plateresque art, the style of the Spanish Renaissance, worked in granite, a stone that is very hard to carve.
The Catholic Monarchs had this building put up from 1499 as a Royal Hospital, to care for pilgrims who arrived sick, injured or exhausted. It was one of the most important hospitals of its time and functioned as such for centuries.
Think about what pilgrimage meant in the Middle Ages: months on foot, with no reliabl…
6
A Hundred Kilometres and a Stamp
You are in front of the Pilgrim's Office. If you come in high season, you will see a queue of people with backpacks waiting with a booklet in their hand. That booklet is the credential, the pilgrim's passport, full of stamps from hostels, churches and bars along the Camino.
This is where the compostela is issued, a certificate in Latin confirming that you made the pilgrimage. To get it, you must have covered at least the last hundred kilometres on foot or on horseback, or two hundred by bicycle, and prove it with the stamps.
The compostela has medieval antecedents: pilgrims needed to prove t…
7
The Apostle on Horseback
You are in front of the Pazo de Raxoi, the Neoclassical building that closes the square to the west. Today it is Santiago's town hall and the seat of the presidency of the Galician government. Look up, above the pediment: a rider with his sword raised, on a horse trampling fallen figures.
It is Santiago Matamoros, Saint James the Moor-slayer. It represents a legend: the battle of Clavijo, supposedly in 844, in which the apostle is said to have appeared on a white horse to help the Christians against the Muslims. There is no evidence that the battle happened as it is told.
The legend had enor…
8
Master Mateo's Signature
You are in the Portico of Glory. Look at the figures: prophets, apostles, elders with musical instruments, and in the centre Christ in majesty. Many keep traces of colour. It is one of the masterpieces of Romanesque sculpture in Europe.
It was carved by Master Mateo's workshop, and the lintels were set in place in 1188, according to the inscription recording it. Look at the faces of the prophets Daniel and Isaiah: Daniel is smiling. It is a rare smile in the art of the period, and for centuries visitors have wondered why.
On the central mullion, the column that divides the entrance, sits Sai…
9
The Tomb and the Cloud of Incense
You are in the crossing of the cathedral, under the dome, in front of the high altar. Behind the altar there is a staircase up which people climb to embrace the image of the apostle, and another that goes down to the crypt. Down there, in a silver casket, are the remains attributed to Saint James.
The official story says that around 820 or 830 a hermit named Pelayo saw lights in a wood. Bishop Theodemir, of nearby Iria Flavia, investigated and found a tomb that he identified as that of the apostle James, executed in Jerusalem in the first century. King Alfonso II ordered a church built. That …
10
The Door That Opens in Holy Years
You are in the Quintana square, east of the cathedral. Look at the great staircase dividing the square into two levels: the Quintana de Mortos, below, and the Quintana de Vivos, above. The lower part was a cemetery until the nineteenth century.
In the cathedral wall, on the square side, is the Holy Door. Look at the stone figures around it: saints and prophets brought from Master Mateo's old choir. Behind it is a bronze door that stays closed almost all the time.
It opens only in Compostela Holy Years, which are celebrated when 25 July, Saint James's day, falls on a Sunday. It happens in cyc…
11
The Oldest Facade
You are in the Platerías square, in front of the south facade of the cathedral. This is the only original Romanesque facade still preserved on the outside. Look at the twin doorways and the reliefs: scenes from the life of Christ, figures, animals, mixed like pieces of a puzzle.
And in part they are. Over the centuries, when other areas of the cathedral were remodelled, some sculptures were moved here. That is why the facade looks like a collage. Work on the Romanesque cathedral began in 1075, and this facade dates from the early twelfth century.
The name of the square comes from the silvers…
12
The Street of the Franks
You are on Rúa do Franco. Look at the street: grey stone, narrow houses, taverns one after the other, windows with octopus, empanadas and Santiago cakes with the cross drawn in sugar. It is one of the liveliest streets in the old town.
Its name recalls the Franks, as foreigners arriving from the other side of the Pyrenees, especially the French, were called in the Middle Ages. Many pilgrims stayed to live, opened businesses, married. The Camino did not only bring visitors: it brought neighbours.
That is why the French Way is called that: not because it starts in France, but because it was th…
13
All the Way to the End of the World
You are at the Mercado de Abastos. Look at the stone halls, lined up like the chapels of a monastery. Inside there are stalls of shellfish, tetilla cheeses shaped like a breast, Padrón peppers, turnip greens, cornbread. The stallholders still come in from the surrounding villages.
The current building dates from 1941, though there has been a market here for much longer. It is the other Santiago: the one of the locals, the one that eats, shops and argues, beyond the cathedral and the pilgrims.
And it is a good place to finish, because it answers the question from the beginning. Why do so many…
How long does the "Santiago de Compostela: the Camino and the Tomb Nobody Can Prove" audio tour take?
It has about 26 minutes of audio across 13 stops and a 2.27 km walking route (~35 min on foot). Plan roughly 1 h 15 min in total, or split it up: you can pause and resume anytime.
Where does the tour start?
At stop 1, "The Gate of Those Who Arrive" (coordinates 42.8818, -8.5401). The app guides you from stop to stop with a map.
Is it free?
Trevurs is a free app for iOS and Android. There is also an optional Premium version, from USD 1.99, with unlimited offline downloads, access to every tour and no ads. It also helps keep an independent app alive.
Why use an audio tour instead of a guided group tour?
No group to keep up with and no guide to wait for. Start at any time of day, on your own schedule. Go at your own pace: pause, rewind or skip any stop. No need to commit 2 or 3 hours to a single tour: do one stop or the whole route. Works offline once downloaded.
What languages is this audio guide available in?
This tour is available in Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, Italian. Switch languages anytime from inside the app.
Do I need wifi to listen to this tour?
No. Download the tour over wifi before you go, then listen without any data connection.
How do I access this tour?
Download Trevurs on iPhone (App Store) or Android (Google Play), then open Santiago de Compostela and pick "Santiago de Compostela: the Camino and the Tomb Nobody Can Prove". No account required to start.
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