• Brief description: The Romanesque cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is the fourth building erected on the site of the tomb of St. James the Apostle. After the purported discovery of his remains in the 9th century, a chapel was built, followed by a pre-Romanesque church that was destroyed in 997, in the Muslim invasion of Almanzor. By the 11th century a new basilica already existed, but in 1075 it was decided to build a cathedral capable of housing the thousands of pilgrims. The Cathedral maintains its original Romanesque style in the Latin cross plan typical of pilgrimage churches, with three longitudinal naves and three transepts crowned by a triforium surrounding the entire church. This gallery was useful in the Middle Ages when many pilgrims had to spend the night in the church awaiting the first religious rite. We recommend attending a Pilgrim's Mass and walking around the church. The Pilgrim's Mass is held every day at noon, though we recommend arriving earlier, between 11:00 and 11:30, to avoid having to stand in line and to make sure you get a good seat. If you're lucky, at the end of the service you'll witness the famous flight of the "botafumeiro" (large censer). They don't do it every day, but only when someone "sponsors" it. You can also embrace the 12th century figure of the Apostle presiding over the altar and visit the Apostle's remains in the subterranean crypt. The crypt contains the Apostle's 1st century remains, discovered, tradition has it, in the 9th century and kept in an urn beginning in the 19th century. In addition, there is a Church Museum (6€), though it's not really worth visiting, and it's also possible to take a guided tour of the Cathedral's roof, though we don't recommend it since it's rather expensive (12€).
• Cost: free for the Cathedral.
• Length of visit: 1hr 30min.
• Hour: The Cathedral opens daily from 7:00 to 20:30. The Pilgrim's Mass is at noon.