A little known fishing port on the Spanish coast is poised to become the next big thing among tourists – for one reason in particular.
While Vigo, nestled on Spain’s green northwest coast in the Galician region, may not be able to compete with its fellow metropolises during peak season, it does have an edge over them during the winter months.
The city, which is packed with historic architecture and maritime charm, is a growing favourite of off-season travellers intrigued by its large-scale Christmas lights display.
Each year, mayor Abel Caballero turns Vigo into a veritable winter wonderland, with over 11 million LED lights bringing festive cheer to 300 streets around the city, centred around the main attraction – a 35-metre tree erected each year in the Porta do Sol square.
In fact, the Christmas season is an elaborate annual observance in the city by any measure, with an ‘Xmas Train’ or ‘NadalBus’ ferrying passengers around the light displays and such random outbursts of festive cheer as the Three Kings of Orient travelling in carriages around Vigo and handing out sweets to flush-cheeked onlookers.
Despite being not quite as flashy as Barcelona or Madrid, Vigo has plenty to offer visitors during the warmer months too. A spot of sunshine is the perfect accompaniment to exploring its historic old town, with the narrow paved streets of Calle de las Ostras packed with all the seafood restaurants you’d expect of a traditional 19th century fishing village.
There is plenty to stoke architectural interest too, with its most imposing landmark the Rande Bridge, which towers 152 metres above the city’s scenic estuary.
And you can even nip across the Minho River into Portugal to satisfy your cultural curiosity even further – with the proximity of the neighbouring region manifesting in Vigo’s local Galician dialect, which differs substantially from other Spanish tongues.
The gentle rhythm of the seaside Bouzas neighbourhood perhaps best captures Vigo’s maritime roots, and its modest but well-documented trading history is unpacked in the city’s Golden Mile district – a block packed with museums tracking back to its founding in the third century BC.
A wander around Vigo’s Museum of Contemporary Art also makes for a rich dose of cultural exposure, with exhibits specialising in the avant-garde. Recent tourists have praised the “wonderful structure” of the former prison building in the city centre and its “very interesting” displays on TripAdvisor.
With free entry year-round, you’ll want to make a bee-line before even more tourists get wise to this hidden gem of the Iberian Peninsula.
