Picked by our team
Towns worth discovering along the Camino de Santiago, chosen by our team. Open one to see its history and sights, and where to stay.
17 towns on the Camino Primitivo
View on the mapMonte do Gozo, the Mount of Joy, lies 4.8 kilometers before the cathedral: from here pilgrims have seen the towers of Santiago for the first time since the Middle Ages. Today trees often block the view, the papal monument has been dismantled, and the albergue is a village of pavilions. You don't have to stay, but you should pause.
Camino FrancésCamino Primitivo+1O Cádavo is where you arrive after the "leg-breaker": 24.3 hard kilometres beyond A Fonsagrada, at the edge of the Campo da Matanza, where King Alfonso II is said to have defeated a Muslim army in 813. An unassuming farming village with everything you need and 130.5 kilometres to Santiago. An afternoon is enough.
Camino PrimitivoO Pedrouzo is the eve: for most pilgrims on the Camino Francés it is the last night, 19.3 kilometers before the cathedral in Santiago. The town is young, functional and full in season, and the way even leads past it through the forest. One evening is enough, and an early night is part of it.
Camino FrancésCamino Primitivo+1Oviedo is where it all began: King Alfonso II is said to have set out from here as the first pilgrim to the Apostle's tomb, and the Camino Primitivo starts here, 308.7 kilometres to Santiago. First you visit the Salvador, to whom the cathedral belongs. The cathedral, the Cámara Santa and the pre-Romanesque churches are worth a rest day.
Camino San SalvadorCamino Primitivo+2Ribadiso is the loveliest resting place between Melide and Arzúa: a stone bridge over the Iso, a meadow by the water and a medieval pilgrim hospital that has welcomed pilgrims again since 1993. Here, 41.5 kilometres before Santiago, it makes a break or a quiet evening, and both are worth it.
Camino FrancésCamino PrimitivoSalas is the stage town before the first big climb of the Camino Primitivo, 48.4 kilometres from Oviedo: a small town of tower, palace and collegiate church, where the founder of the University of Oviedo lies in an alabaster tomb. Tomorrow you climb 539 metres to La Espina. An afternoon is enough.
Camino PrimitivoSantiago de Compostela is where 14 Caminos end, and in 2025 more pilgrims than ever collected their Compostela here: 530,987. Around the cathedral with the apostle's tomb you'll find granite squares, monasteries and tapas bars. Stay at least two nights, because arriving takes time.
Camino FrancésCamino Portugués Central+12Tineo clings to a hillside at 671 metres, 68.1 kilometres from Oviedo: a town pilgrims were obliged to pass through by a privilege of King Alfonso IX in 1222. The hostel bears the name of the old pilgrim hospital, Mater Christi, and is open all year. An afternoon is enough, but stock up here for tomorrow.
Camino PrimitivoTop rated
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