Ourense: top attractions & road trip guide
Ourense is a junction city on the Camino, where the Via de la Plata meets the Camino Sanabrés for the final push into Santiago de Compostela. The city has been valued since Roman times for its natural hot springs, which still bubble up along the Miño River, and its old town holds one of Galicia's most striking medieval bridges and a cathedral with a richly carved portal.
Set in inland Galicia along the Miño River, Ourense sits in a warmer, more sheltered valley than the Atlantic coast to its west. Road trips through the region pass terraced vineyards and wooded hills, with Ourense serving as a convenient base before the final stretch toward Santiago.
Top attractions
Puente Romano
A medieval bridge on Roman foundations spanning the Miño River with a tall central arch, long the main crossing point into the old town.
Ourense Cathedral
A Romanesque and Gothic cathedral whose Pórtico do Paraíso, a polychrome carved portal, echoes the more famous Pórtico da Gloria in Santiago.
As Burgas hot springs
Natural hot springs in the old town that have flowed since Roman times, now channeled into public fountains and pools open to visitors.
Praza Maior
The arcaded main square of the old town, lined with historic facades and long the civic and social center of Ourense.
Museo Arqueolóxico Provincial
A museum housed in the old episcopal palace, holding Roman and Galician archaeological finds from the wider Ourense province.
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