Lugo

Lugo began as a Roman military camp, founded under the command of Caius Antistius Vetus during Augustus's campaigns to bring the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula into the empire. It was established on or near a pre-existing Celtic hillfort settlement. The city was formally founded as Lucus Augusti by Paulus Fabius Maximus in the emperor's name, and from around 50 AD the urban settlement expanded as indigenous populations from nearby hillforts moved in.

The city grew into a significant Roman urban centre. Temples, baths, pools, mosaics and coins have all been found, and new discoveries continue to surface whenever construction work takes place in the old town. Recent archaeological finds have also revised earlier assumptions about the layout of the Roman forum, placing it across a wider area than previously thought, extending to what is now the Praza de Santo Domingo.

Between roughly 260 and 325 AD, the city was enclosed by the walls that still stand today. By this period Lugo served as capital of the Conventus Lucensis, one of three administrative divisions of Roman Gallaecia. The Suevi took the city in 460, after which the Council of Lugo elevated the local church to a metropolitan see, with bishops from Astorga, Iria Flavia, Ourense and Tuy falling under its authority.

Muslims arrived in 714, but Alfonso I retook the city without resistance in 741. The bishop Odoario, finding it in a poor state, ordered the Roman remains buried and the city rebuilt, transforming the Roman town into an ecclesiastical centre. Lugo's broader political importance gradually declined with the founding of Oviedo, the discovery of the supposed tomb of Saint James at Compostela, and the restoration of Braga.

Cathedral construction began in 1129, designed by master builder Raimundo de Monforte and dedicated to Santa María, known as the Virgen de los Ojos Grandes.

Lugo is one of very few Spanish cities with three UNESCO World Heritage sites: the Roman walls, the Cathedral of Santa María, and the Primitive Way of Santiago as it passes through the city. The Roman walls are the standout monument. Over two kilometres in circumference, they are the only Roman walls anywhere in the world to have their entire original perimeter intact.

They were designated a World Heritage Site on 30 November 2000, and since 2007 have been twinned with the Great Wall of China at Qinhuangdao. Within their circuit sit the cathedral, the provincial museum, and the town hall. Lugo also has Roman baths and a Roman bridge, once connected by a Roman road whose exact route is no longer known.

The Cathedral of Santa María, begun in 1129 in Romanesque style, acquired additions over subsequent centuries, a north portal, a clock tower, a cloister, and a neoclassical facade. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 2015. The Church of San Pedro, formerly part of a Franciscan convent, is considered a rare, possibly unique, example of Mudéjar art in Galicia, notable for its dome and the wooden ceiling of its nave.

The town hall facade, an early 18th-century work by Ferro Caveiro, is considered an archetypal example of Galician Baroque, decorated with stone plaques, ear-shaped mouldings, drops and volutes. The Provincial Museum holds a strong collection of Celtic goldwork, Roman mosaics, and works by Galician artists including Castelao, Julia Minguillón, Castro Gil and Asorey. Within ten kilometres of the city centre, the late Roman sanctuary of Santa Eulalia de Bóveda preserves mural paintings described as unique in the world.

The Penas de Rodas are two large granite rocks set in open countryside. Closer in, the riverside walks along the Miño and Rato rivers run around the southern edge of the city through largely undeveloped land with native flora and fauna.

The nearest well-connected airport is Santiago de Compostela; A Coruña airport is slightly closer but has fewer international routes. By road, Lugo is 505 km from Madrid via the A-6 toll road and 105 km from Santiago via the A-54. ALSA buses run from Madrid Estación Sur five times daily (7 hours), some departing from Madrid Airport T4; four daily buses connect from Oviedo (6 hours); and Arriva Galicia runs between A Coruña and Lugo every 30 minutes (90 minutes).

Monbus serves Lugo from Vigo twice on Fridays and Sundays only (2 hr 30 min via Santiago). The train station is 500 m east of the city centre, on Praza da Constitución south of the walls; four trains daily from Madrid Chamartín take around 4 hr 30 min, with some direct via Ourense and others requiring a change there; two daily trains from A Coruña take 1 hr 50 min. The walled centre is compact and best explored on foot, cars are unwelcome, streets are traffic-restricted, and parking is difficult.

Restaurante da Rua is 100 m south of the Museo Provincial at Rúa Nova 13, open Wednesday–Monday 11:00–00:00. Restaurante Campos, an upmarket option at Rúa Nova 2, opens Tuesday–Saturday 12:30–15:30 and 20:00–23:30, Sunday 12:30–15:30. Royal Tandoori is east of the centre at Rúa Rafael de Vega Doutor 1, open Tuesday–Sunday 12:30–16:30 and 19:30–00:00.

Bars cluster between the cathedral and the Museo Provincial. Common beer brands include Estrella Galicia, Cruzcampo, Steinburg and San Miguel; Galician wine is predominantly crisp and white, in a style similar to Portuguese.