Vigo is a modern city on the Atlantic coast. It is actually one of those special cases of a cosmopolitan town combining industry, commerce, culture and leisure in a distinctive way of conceiving its metropolitan landscape.
The city is nestled on one of the sides of a natural and sheltered beautiful Bay. It faces the Cíes Islands, a National Park which is worth discovering, as different National Geographic reports warrant. The Guardian states that one of its beaches is the best in the world (2007 ranking). 40-minute boat trip from the Cruise Quay and once a pirates’ haunt, Cies is now a pristine and exclusive nature paradise where over fifteen thousand birds nest in their cliffs. In the sea, around the island there is a real underwater garden made up of rich fauna.
Jules Verne, in 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, mentioned Vigo, its Bay and the Battle of Rande and the treasures of the galleons that sunk in the bay that funded the expeditions. This treasure is about to be rescued and exhibited in a new museum in the city. And Ernest Hemingway did also say that he was inspired by the Vigo’s tuna fishermen to depict epic realism in The Old Man and The Sea, as he had lived there for quite a long time.
In fact, Vigo is one of the world’s largest fishing ports. Fishing is the trade that, together with the automotive and shipping building industries, give Vigo this noticeable working-class touch, traditional as well as modern.
Cruise passengers arrive at the very downtown, a district that offers pleasant walks through pedestrian areas with a wide range of culture, shopping and restaurants serving regional cuisine.
Surroundings are also worth a visit: from the impressive Santiago de Compostela (just 40 minutes away) to interesting tours to small seaside villages such as Baiona or Combarro, not forgetting to taste the superb wines of the region at any of the wineries in the vicinity. Adventurers can enjoy almost unbeatable offers: riding horses, rafting, canoeing, quads, trekking...
With over 200 cruise ships and over 220,000 visitors in 2008, Vigo strengthens its position as a port of transit for many liners in these last years. The Cruise Quay – recently named as `Alberto Durán’– has a brand renewed terminal willing to welcome visitors in the most warm, practical and modern way.
