Cidade Vella da Coruña

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About Cidade Vella da Coruña

The Cidade Velha is the medieval core of A Coruña, on a small rise beside the port, behind the plaza de María Pita. The narrow stone streets, small squares and stately houses with coats of arms contrast with the modern city around them.

The most important church in the neighborhood is the collegiate church of Santa María do Campo, Romanesque, from the 12th and 13th centuries, with Gothic additions. The main portal has a tympanum carved with the Adoration of the Magi, and the tower was added later. Nearby are the church of Santiago, also Romanesque, and several squares such as Azcárraga, with trees and a fountain.

At the tip of the neighborhood, on an old bastion of the wall, is the jardín de San Carlos, a small 19th‑century Romantic garden with views over the port and the castelo de San Antón. In its center is the tomb of the English general John Moore, who died in 1809 at the battle of Elviña during the wars against Napoleon, while defending the withdrawal of British troops by sea.

The neighborhood is quiet and can be explored on foot in a short time.