We leave Ourense towards Ribadavia, on the A-52 highway. Before arriving in Ribeiro, it is possible to take the 241 turnoff, Pontevedra way, towards Santa Cruz de Arrabaldo. Here we can visit the Santa Cruz de Arrabaldo-Inorde station. This old rehabilitated train station hosts two interesting exhibition rooms: the Galician Traditional Dress Museum and the Estanislao Reverter Car Museum. Another option is to take the Punxín-Carballiño direction, where we recommend the Barbantiño waterfall (2 km away from Punxín, signed on the right side as ‘O Viñao’), one of the most beautiful ones in Ourense. Here we should also visit the entrance to the pre-roman culture Archaeological (pre-Roman) site of San Cibrao de Lás (San Cibrao de Lás fort).
The third option is, in the same turnoff, to address the village of Barbantes Estación, where you can find on the river side the thermal area. You can also walk, passing through the Laias spa, with tranches of beautiful walkways.
We take the turning to Ribadavia, the oldest and most famous capital of the wine area in Galicia, the Ribeiro.
This historical ensemble has beautiful historical constructions with gorgeous buildings that speak of a glorious past, with endless Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque churches, the convents of Santo Domingo and San Francisco, the fortress (domain belonging to the Sarmientos) and the walls.
Once in the Praza Maior, the first stop is the Pazo dos Condes, where it is currently the tourism office. There we can get information or use the audio guide service before visiting the Castles of the Condes de Ribadavia and the Jewish Information Centre of Galicia.
An interesting place is the Ethnological Museum, located in the Rúa de Santiago, a mansion known as Pazo de Baamonde or Casa de la Fundación.
The Museum of Galician Wine is a must. It is one of the most important historical buildings in Europe, aimed to wine production for a long time. It is in the Rectoral de Santo André de Campo Redondo, 3.5 km away from Ribadavia on the road OU 211 .
Once we have visited Ribadavia, there are many options: on the road OU-801 towards Cortegada, we find the jewel of the Romanesque of Ourense, the Church of San Xés de Francelos, as well as the Prexigueiro springs in Prexigueiro. This is a dreamy thermal circuit surrounded by nature.
The thermal village of Cortegada, besides its modern spa, has an old Modernist mansion over the Miño river. Next to it we can find the Coto da Pena viewpoint, with amazing views to the river. Another option is to continue the A-52 highway to Melón, where we find the Cistercian monastery of Santa María and the Pozas de Melón and Tourón, a bath and walk place with amazing walkways and waterfalls.
Castrelo de Miño is very close to Ribadavia. There the Parque Naútico of Castrelo de Miño is the best place to do water and leisure activities.
It is also advisable a visit to the recently excavated Castro de Santa Lucía (fort), where we can find a prehistoric winepress with more than 2000 old and amazing views over the Miño valley. Arnoia has an important spa. Following the riverside walk we arrive in the pleasant recreational area of As Poldras, a perfect place to take a bath in summer.
The pre-roman church and its priory in San Salvador and the historical village of A Ponte are also remarkable.
Back to Ribadavia, we leave road OU-504 towards Carballiño. In the route we will see the turnoff to Carballeda de Avia through OU- 0306 road. There we can find in the Mills route the recreational area of Muiños de A Veronza, where we can walk while we are enjoying nature or visiting the river mills.
DID YOU KNOW THAT?
Ribadavia belongs to the Jewish Network in Spain. The Jews specialised in wine and the administration of goods and income. In the village of Ribadavia, the Jewish community lived in the Rúa da Xudería, currently Merelles Caula, and on the Porta Nova streets (12-16th century)
Between the councils of Leiro, Carballeda de Avia and Avión it is the Natural Monument of Pena Corneira. The way up to it can be through road OU-0306 towards Avión, where we take the Lamas turnoff until a point close to the “pena” stone, the O Outeiral viewpoint and the recreation area of Pena Corneira.
From here we take OU 212 Beade way and the turn off to Berán: the historical winegrowing site with a long-established spa. In Beade we can find one of the main churches and priories of the Order of Malta in the Iberian Peninsula.
Next to the Church of Santa María de Beade there is an impressive Viacrucis, known thanks to the drawings of Castelao, considered the most important author of Galician literature.
From Beade, we follow the road to Carballiño along the Avia River course. On our way we find different turn offs to picturesque traditional wine villages and beautiful medieval sites. These are surrounded by vineyards in terrasses such as Vieite or Barzamedelle, where the gothic bridge of San Clodio is.
We stop in Leiro, an attractive and touristic village. The river Avia going through it lets us enjoy the fantastic path and the recreational area of Salgueiral, where there is an original suspension bridge.
Very close we find the Monastery of San Clodio, turned into the first monument-hotel and vinotherapy spa in Galicia. There we will enjoy a building with centuries of history, as well as treatments where wine and grapes are used.
Going back to Leiro, we will take a turn off leading to Pazos de Arenteiro, a few kilometres away. This village is an important monumental site where we highlight the nobility of its buildings: churches, pazos and houses with coats of arms.
Especially beautiful is the Arenteiro river walk, from the medieval bridge of Ponte Da Cruz, to the well-known Pozo dos Fumes.
Back on the road OU-504, on the way back to Carballiño, we can take a turn to the village of Partovia, where we find the spa Caldas de Partovia. From here we can address the Archaeological Site of San Cibrao, one of the most representative pre-Roman sites in Galicia. Moreover, the interpretation centre has guided visits to the archaeological site. Carballiño is a busy town with a long thermal tradition. The magnificent Temple of Veracruz by Antonio Palacios is very impressive. In the villa’s big park, we find two obligatory stops: the Great Spa and the Arenteiro Ethnographic Museum, formed by a cluster of mills and the miller house. Next to it, we find ‘a Pena dos Namorados’. Around the village there are the wine villages of Banga, Moldes or Cabanelas, with important Romanesque Churches. After visiting O Carballiño, the Monastery of Santa María de Oseira is worth a visit. It is close to Cea, which is famous for its bread- protected with geographical indication- and its traditional ovens. The monastery of Oseira is an architectural gem, hidden in a beautiful natural environment where the monks that live there can guide us. We go back to Ourense on the road N-525.
DID YOU KNOW THAT?
We can’t leave Carballiño without tasting its famous octopus, which has its own festival of Touristic Interest and the fried “cañas”, a delicious dessert.
As we are in the Ribeiro, the oldest designation in Galicia, we should visit one of its wineries.
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