# Tui

Tui is a town of 17,000 people (2018) in Galicia on the right bank of the Miño River, facing the Portuguese town of Valença. Its medieval city is the second largest by area in Galicia.
Tui lies on the Portuguese Way of St. James (Camino Portuguese). The town is the second most often picked starting point to do a Camino de Santiago. Over 30,000 pilgrims started here in 2024. The pilgrims choose Tui because the distance from this point to Santiago allows them to cover the necessary kilometres to get the certificate of accomplishment.

## Understand

Tui is the spelling in Galician and Portuguese. The Castilian Spanish spelling is Tuy.

## Get in

By plane Vigo (VGO) is the closest airport. It has frequent flights from Madrid and daily from Barcelona, but not much internationally beyond a seasonal flight from London Stansted.
Santiago de Compostela (SVQ) is a major tourist and pilgrim destination and has flights from across Europe. Porto (OPO) also has a good range of European flights plus Newark NJ, Toronto and Rio de Janeiro.
By road Tui is on AP-9, which runs from Ferrol on the north coast via Santiago, Pontevedra and Vigo. At the border bridge into Portugal it becomes A3, from Valença to Braga and Porto. Pedestrians, cyclists and trains cross on the older bridge 500 m upstream. No tolls, or border checks as both countries are part of the Schengen Area, but remember to adjust your watch.
Inter-city buses from Vigo to Porto rush past Tui but stop at Valença, with four per day taking 30 min. Valença is 2 km south of Tui, there's no public transport so take a taxi, or walk if lightly laden.
Bus.Gal runs every hour or so from Vigo to Tui, taking 30 min.
Trains no longer stop at Tui station. Considering the out-of-the-way little places they do stop, would it hurt so much to install a ticket machine and restore a platform halt?
42.0251-8.63941 Valença across the border has trains twice a day from Porto Campanha, taking 2 hours 15 min via Nine and Viana do Castelo, and continuing to Vigo Urzáiz. Change in Vigo for Santiago, A Coruña and Madrid.
42.0656-8.622472 Guillarei 3 km northeast of Tui is a halt for the twice-daily train from Vigo Guixar, heading for Ourense and Ponferrada via 30 little places no-one's ever heard of. No facilities at Guillarei so you need to have a taxi waiting.

## Get around

Almost everything in Tui is a 10-minute walk away. Otherwise, you should rent or have a car to move.

## See

* 42.046166-8.6443041 Catedral de Santa María, Praza de San Fernando, ☏ +34 98 660 0511. M-Sa 11:00-14:00, 16:00–19:00, Su 09:00-12:30, 16:00-19:00. Sturdy cathedral built from 1120 in Romanesque style, with the Gothic facade added from 1225. Technically it's a co-cathedral, sharing its status with Vigo. Adult €5. (updated Mar 2025)
* Diocesan Museum on the plaza opposite the cathedral has closed, and the intention is to re-house it within the cathedral. The building was a hospital for pilgrims.
* Chapel of San Telmo is just east of the cathedral, a concoction of Portuguese Baroque built from 1763. Saint Pedro González Telmo (1190-1246) was a renowned preacher, working for a time for the royal court of Castile then with seafarers of the Atlantic coast. He died in Tui and is buried here.
* Convent of the Poor Clares was founded in 1524 but rebuilt from 1688. It's seldom accessible, but you can ring a bell and proffer €10, and the nuns will pass out a box of almond cakes. It's 100 m north of the cathedral on Rúa das Monxas.
* 42.0483-8.64392 Church of San Francisco was built in 1682 as part of a Franciscan convent. It's nowadays a library and cultural centre, but you can look in to see the choir stalls, altar and "Chapel of the Third Order". It's on Paseo de Calvo Sotelo and open daily 10:00-20:00.
* Paseo Fluvial is the riverside boardwalk beneath the east ramparts.
* Troncoso Gardens stretch along the riverbank beyond the ramparts northeast side of town.
* 42.0794-8.670323 Monte Aloia (10 minutes away by car). Natural park of 7.5 km$^2$ (2.9 sq mi), the first in Galicia. Trails of 0.6–3.2 km.
* The Corredoira.

## Do

* Theatre: Teatro Municipal is on Rua Colón.
* Piscina Municipal the outdoor swimming pool is open in summer.
* El Camino, the pilgrimage trail to Santiago, has a branch running north from Lisbon. Nowadays most join it at Tui, since this is 107 km via Porriño, Redondela, Pontevedra, Caldas de Reyes and Padrón, and the minimum for a pilgrimage certificate is 100 km.

## Buy

* Supermarkets: Froiz is 100 m north of the cathedral on Paseo de Calvo Sotelo 9, open M-Sa 09:00-21:30.
    There's another Froiz at Casal Aboy by the main car park.
    The biggest stores are at the A-55 junction north end of the international bridge: Mercadona, Lidl, Gadis Hiper and PrimaPrix.

## Eat
### Budget

* Bocatería Fornos. (updated Jan 2025)
* Santiamen. (updated Jan 2025)
* Taperia O Albergue. (updated Jan 2025)
* Restaurante Arte Pizza. (updated Jan 2025)
* Manc's burguer. (updated Jan 2025)
* Pizzería Di Marco Tropical. (updated Jan 2025)
* Hamburguesería CasaBlanca. (updated Jan 2025)

### Mid-range

* O Alboio (facing the main entry of the cathedral). Best place for tapas. Albeit a bit pricey (for local standards) the quality of the food is top notch. (updated Jan 2025)
* Restaurante Tapería Época. (updated Jan 2025)
* La de Manu, Paseo de Calvo Sotelo 40 (north side of Church of San Francisco), ☏ +34 674 549 494. Tu-Th 13:00-16:00, F Sa 13:00-16:00, 20:00-23:45. Trad Galician fare, great value for the quality. (updated Mar 2025)
* Merendeiro Aloia (near the summit of Monte Aloia). The quality of the food is great, and the prices reasonable. (updated Jan 2025)

## Drink

There are plenty of pubs and clubs in the town. The clubs remain open until 06:00 in many cases, so you'll have plenty of time to socialize.

## Sleep

* O Novo Cabalo Furado, Rúa Seijas 3 (next to cathedral), ☏ +34 98 660 4445. Pleasant place in the old centre, nowadays an aparthotel rather than a pension. Double (room only) €70. (updated Mar 2025)
* Jacob's Hostel, Rúa Bispo Lago 5 (next to San Francisco church), ☏ +34 64 455 7194. Clean helpful hostel, for pilgrims only. (updated Mar 2025)
* La Sigrina at Rúa Foxo 8 is pleasant when it's clean and dry, but some visitors have found it damp and dingy.
* 42.0495-8.64771 Hotel Colón, Rúa Colón 11, ☏ +34 98 660 0223. Quiet and comfortable in the modern part of town. (updated Mar 2025)
* 42.0474-8.64252 A Torre do Xudeu, Rúa Tide 3, ☏ +34 98 660 3535. Comfy hotel in an attractive 18th century building. B&B double €80. (updated Mar 2025)
* 42.0409-8.64573 Parador de Tui, Av de Portugal, ☏ +34 98 660 0300. Smart comfy Parador. B&B double €200. (updated Mar 2025)

## Connect

As of Feb 2025, Tui and its approach roads have 5G from all Spanish carriers, extending across the border to Valença.
Tui also gets 4G from Portuguese carriers Digi and MEO.

## Go next

* Tui is a common starting point for walking the Portuguese Way of the Way of St. James to Santiago de Compostela. Get a pilgrim's passport and a stamp on it before commencing the pilgrimage.