Centro histórico de Pontevedra

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About Centro histórico de Pontevedra

Pontevedra’s historic center is one of the best preserved in Galicia and became known for having been closed to cars from the late 1990s. Since then, the granite streets and squares have belonged to pedestrians, and the city has become a reference for urban mobility in Spain.

Praça da Leña is the most typical: small, paved in stone, with a wayside cross in the middle and houses with glass galleries. The name comes from the firewood market that operated there since the Middle Ages, where residents from the surroundings sold firewood and pinecones for ovens and hearths. On the east side are two 18th-century small palaces that today are part of the museum.

Praça da Ferrería, the largest square, has a 16th-century fountain and arcades around it, between the Igreja da Peregrina and the Convento de San Francisco. Praça da Verdura recalls the old vegetable market, and Praça do Teucro, with grand houses and coats of arms, takes its name from the Greek hero who, legend says, founded the city.

At night and on weekends the squares fill with outdoor tables. In early September, the Feira Franca turns the center into a medieval fair.