In Galicia we have visited A Coruña, Santiago de Compostela, Baiona, Vigo, Allariz and in this publication we are going to visit the city of Ourense. _{^{(Vigo and Allariz soon around here)}}

— Puedes leer esto en español aquí —

Orense (or Ourense in Galician) is located in the autonomous community of Galicia and it’s the capital of the Province of Ourense.

While I was in Madrid, when I used to stay for months around there 😆, for Holy Week my friend Paty invited me with her family to go to Ourense during that week. We took a train at the Chamartín station and a few hours later (2-3hrs depending on which train you take) we arrived in Ourense.

In Ourense we walked most of the time, although it is very easy to grab a taxi. Since it’s my friend’s city, we stayed at her family’s house and it took us about 30 minutes to walk to the Plaza Mayor area, a nice stroll down and less than 10 minutes by taxi (to avoid the walk up hill after lots of wandering in town). The walk also felt pleasant due to the weather, since it was still spring, very cool although a lot of sun.

The heart of the city is its old quarter, where the majestic Ourense Cathedral is located. The cathedral combines Romanesque and Gothic elements, and its interior houses an impressive collection of religious art. A few steps away is the Plaza Mayor, a shopping area like in Rúa do Paseo, cafes, little bars like in Rúa Lepanto where we had a great time, restaurants and more tourist places. Honestly, everything in the downtown area seemed very easy to stroll around and explore.

One of the biggest attractions in Ourense are the thermal waters, known for their healing and relaxing properties. These thermal spaces have outdoor pools where visitors can immerse themselves and enjoy a relaxing bath while enjoying the view, in some of them, of the Miño River (Minho in Galician). One that we visited, although from the outside, was As Burgas. But there are more and there is one that caught my attention, but with the weather as it was… yes yes, although the water is hot, it’s not for me :), it was Caldas de A Chavasqueira which not only has the thermal pools, but also the view of the Miño river right there.

This little trip was amazing and I know there are many more places to visit. But during that Holy Week we visited Vigo, Baiona, one day we took the train to Santiago de Compostela and another day we visited Allariz.

In the video below, I show you more about the experience and other points we visited. (CC for subtitles)

What would you recommend us to visit on another trip that we have not mentioned here? Let us know!