In the heart of Mariña Lugo, Ribadeo offers you a destination in the north of Spain where you can combine the rural tourism with beautiful sea views.
Located on the edge of the Ría del Eo, it acts as a natural border between Lugo and Asturias, and can be reached using its famed bridge Puente de los Santos. The bridge crosses the estuary to Figueras, an Asturian town belonging to Castropol. Here you can enjoy many natural spaces like the beaches Playa dos Bloques or, to go a little further out from the town, Playa de Las Catedrales which boasts impressive natural arches.
Ribadeo itself is actually made up of several municipalities, and among them you can find many historical clues, mainly related to Celtic Culture. Sites of interest include Castro das Grobas, the petroglyphs As Pisadas do Encanto or the mammoas Mámoas de Rego de Mel.
Moving forward in its history, we see the urban area of Ribadeo become much more relevant thanks to the growth of its port and foreign transportation services, that is, until ports such as Gijón take over.
Do you want to know what you´ll find in the historic center of Ribadeo? You´ll find a beautiful network of streets that form this Asset of Cultural Interest, where various architectural styles intermingle in buildings of all kinds, with special mention to the Indiano houses. Indiano is a name given to Spanish returnees from the American colonies; their houses are noteworthy because they would return to show off their wealth and success from the rich new world.
Among some of the historical buildings we must highlight the castle of San Damián (18th century), a military structure, la Aduana Vieja, a unique 18th century construction. Or from the 20th century there´s the Parque de O Cargadoiro, an open-air ethnological space that houses the remains of a loading dock of old goods.
The Plaza del Campo is the nerve centre of the town, where Torre de los Morenos, a distinct example of an Indiano building meets the beautiful façade of the Church of Santa María, a reformed 13th century Franciscan convent. Nearby you see the Convent of Santa Clara a 11th century architectural ensemble that first began as a beguinage.
Between the streets San Roque, Clemente Martínez and Vilafranca do Bierzo, you can see a great samples of the Indiano architecture with the parade of residential houses built between the late 19th century and early 20th century. Pedro Murias Agricultural School Farm attracts special attention as it offers one of the most representative characteristics of the locality.
How about its gastronomy? Ribadeo is a food lover's paradise, offering a wide range of variety of restaurants and tapas bars. As a good fishing village, its dishes are based on fish and shellfish such as grouper, octopus, sea bass, razor clams, bream or squid from the estuary itself. And of course we cannot neglect its cheeses, meats or local products which include delicious wines and artisan spirits.
If we focus on its economy, one of the main activities continues to be fishing, although the tourism sector is its main pillar since it has become a very renowned destination in Galicia, and therefore, within the sector, rural tourism is one of the most outstanding.
