Lugo - a walled city

Lugo, known as Lucus Augusti in Roman times, is the oldest city in Galicia, founded circa 14 BC. The Romans built a defensive wall around the city, more than 2km in length, encompassing 85 towers which rose two or three levels above the parapet. The Roman wall is the only one in the world to be preserved and intact and as such it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.

The city is also a living museum of Roman civilisation including mosaics, baths, Ponte Vella (old bridge) and various remains. It also showcases monuments and buildings from several periods, with attractive parks and gardens, all of which are very well-maintained and presented, and makes the city a 'must-see'.

It is the Roman Wall though that really unites old and modern Lugo. At around 4m wide, it is possible to walk around the top completely and it is used daily by the locals for moving about the city, exercise or simply to enjoy a stroll. The films that we watched at the Tourist Office about its history helped us to understand and appreciate its importance as we circumnavigated it ourselves.

We then swopped one cultural experience for another and headed for a tapas bar. With our glass of wine, we were presented with a tray of cold tapas to choose from (tortilla and marinated anchovy is what we chose) and then the waiter told us about the hot tapas we could have (chorizo in cider & veal in a rich tomato sauce). All for 2.40€ each! They know how to live in Spain. We then had some octopus and prawns in garlic to share with chunks of bread to dip into the sauce. The Galacians seem to be big fans of octopus, with an octopus bar or restaurant on every street.

After all that food, we headed off for a walk down to the river to see the old Roman bridge. The sun was shining as we walked along watching locals canoeing in the waters of the Rio Miño, whilst herons stood like statues waiting to catch a fish as it swam by.Read more