Combarro – how to visit this gorgeous Galician village

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Combarro is a fascinating small seaside village in Galicia that was declared a place of cultural interest in 1972.

It is located in the region of As Rías Baixas, four estuary inlets in southern Galicia: Ría de Muros e Noia, the Ría de Arousa, the Ría de Pontevedra, and the Ría de Vigo.

People visit to see the hórreos, the cases mariñeiras, and cruceiros – in order, granaries, fishing houses and stone crosses.

Tucked away on the Ría Pontevedra, in the Province of Pontevedra, Combarro is an easy day trip from the nearby cities of Vigo and Pontevedra as well as from the cities of Santiago de Compostela and A Coruña.

I actually stopped off here on the way to Vigo from Ferrol (a not super touristy town that I really like), which was also perfectly do-able and reasonable as a day adventure.

🚘 – It’s an easy drive into Combarro. It’s just 15 minutes or so from Pontevedra.

🅿️ As you arrive in town you’ll see directions to carparks but as always, I recommend checking them out first on the map so you arrive with a plan. There’s an ‘overflow’ carpark just out of town by the cemetery that you can use if you can’t get a space closer.

If you don’t arrive early, you won’t get a space easily, especially during tourist season. In October, we arrived at 11am and it was fine but when we left around 2pm there were people having to wait for spaces.

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🚌 – There are frequent buses between Pontevedra and Combarro. Buses depart from the main Pontevedra Bus Station (about 40 minutes by bus).

🥾 – Of course, Galicia is Camino de Santiago-land so if you’re thinking of undertaking a hike in this region, you could actually hike from Pontevedra to Combarro. It’s the Variante Espiritual route that leaves from Pontevedra and it’s around an 11km walk.

👣 – There are a few tour options for Combarro from Santiago de Compostela including this full day tour of the region that includes a 75 minute stop in Combarro.

Combarro is a tiny place, it’s perfectly easy to visit in one day, or even in a few hours combined with somewhere else. If you’re taking things nice and slow, it would be perfect to stay over night here and experience the village before/after all the other tourists arrive.

Stroll along the narrow streets, admiring the hórreos, enjoy a drink or tapa overlooking the water, browse the shops.

Marvel at the hórreos

The hórreo, as noted above, is a traditional old granary found across northern Spain including Galicia. These granaries are raised off the ground on legs to keep the grain dry and free of pests.

Apparently there are more hórreos here than in any other village in Galicia, although it is said that there are over 30,000 across the entire community.

🛡️ Galician hórreros have protected status.

The biggest draw of Combarro is without a doubt its row of 30 hórreos, traditional granaries from the 18th century, that line the shore on Rúa de Mar. It’s an absolute delight to walk between them, down the narrow gaps to the water.

There are actually 60 of them around the village but of course, seeing so many in a row is really extremely impressive and makes for some great photo opportunities.

On the delightful Praza Peirao da Chousa you’ll also find a few perched along the side and apparently the important 7th century monastery of San Juan de Poio is home to the largest hórreo in all of Galicia.

There are nine of these stone crosses to see in Combarro and although they most definitely look Christian, we must remember that Galicia has ancient pagan roots and many of these crosses were built upon ancient sacred sites to try and enforce Christianity on the Indigenous pagan population.

These cruceiros are considered to be one of the most genuine expressions of Galician architecture. Despite their seemingly Christian symbolism of Jesus and his mother, they are typically identified with noting a traditional pagan sacred symbolic and protective space. It is believed that gatherings of traditional meigas and witches took place at these locations.

Before we get into the idea of witches in Galicia, I am compelled to note that I remain angry & horrified by the treatment of women across northern Europe by men during the middle ages (and beyond, obv). Women were persecuted for being smart, loud, wealthy or educated, or even simply because men felt like punishing them. I don’t joke about this at all. It is a stain on our collective history that I don’t believe we’ve fully addressed, preferring to cloak cruel persecution and torture in jokes and stories rather than deal seriously with the consequences of this awful time.

Meigas are different. They are absolutely central to Galician folklore and are considered to be women with extraordinary powers, holders of natural medicine knowledge, and astrology. They could do both good or evil depending on intention. They are seers and unlike in much of Europe, from what I’ve read, Spain, despite being the centre of the Inquisition, was actually not obsessed with hunting ‘witches’.

There is a wonderful saying in Gallego, “eu non creo nas meigas, pero habelas hailas’ (I don’t believe in witches, but there are witches), which I think sums up really well the mixture of respect and skepticism towards the subject in Galicia. They don’t believe but they also don’t not believe in powerful women working in harmony with the natural world.

Another great quote about Galicia I found is: “Galicia produces witches as easily as turnips,” attributed to dramatist Tirso de Molina in 1610 – he wrote the Trickster of Seville, by the way.

Everywhere you go in Combarro you’ll find dolls and effigies of witches, and of owls too, offering protection as you explore.

Stroll the streets

Rúa do Mar – here you’ll find the majority of the hórreos and the old fishing homes, most of which have now been converted into shops and restaurants (photo above).

This is a super narrow street, maybe two people wide at best so hold your breath if you’re visiting in the summer 😆

Enjoy all the fun souvenir shops along here, especially Mirador y Tienda de Souvenirs because here at this lovely shop you’ll be invited to head upstairs to the first floor balcony to admire the views.

I actually really regret not buying something here so if you do stop in, pick up a small souvenir or two to make up for my not buying anything 😢. There’s also a cute swing in their space near the water when you can take photos.

A Rúa – the houses are traditional granite fisher people’s houses from the 1700s, with covered porches, columns, balconies and cute as anything little gardens.

Leads onto Praza do Fonte (mentioned above)

A Rúa Cega (photo above) – literally translated this means ‘blind road’, which works nicely because in Spanish, Calle Ciega means ‘dead-end street’, which this definitely is. In Gallego actually it’s more common to hear “rúa sen saída” (road without an exit) but it can be understood as a ‘dead-end’ too. And this road is the only road in all of Combarro’s casco antiguo where the houses don’t face the sea. It is thought that peasants must have lived here rather than the families of fishermen.

+ In the Old Town, people often like to visit the 18th century Iglesia Parroquial de San Roque to see the wooden roof. Apparently this church was originally dedicated to San Sebastián but after a plague swept through the region, the locals swapped allegiance to San Roque instead.

+ Playa do Padron – the town’s small beach. It’s not anything like the beautiful beaches you’ll find outside of town, for me it is more of a spot to sit and gaze at the beauty around than a beach for spending a day on.

Where to eat in Combarro

I actually can’t give any hints as I ate homemade pizza from the back of my car while I was here. Some days are picnic days, sorry.

I do know that many places both in the old city and outside of it, get great reviews for their seafood.

Where to stay in Combarro

🏨 Excellent beachfront views: GALIHOST – Maraxe 45 – a delightful two bedroom house with sea views and a terrace to enjoy the water (parking is available if you request it)

🏨 Excellent beachfront views: Casa Do Pazo in Combarro – another delightful two bedroom house with sea views and a terrace and free parking.

And as a final note, where do I think is equally beautiful in Spain?

I think there are dozens, if not hundreds of gorgeous places to visit in Spain. These are a few where their beauty has actually stopped me in my tracks:

Zuheros in Córdoba, Andalucía, Castilfollit de la Roca, in Girona, Catalunya, Potes, in the Picos de Europa, Cantabria. Nijar in Almeria, Guadix in Granada, Andalucía, Almonaster La Real, Huelva