Understand
[edit]La Pinta - "the painted one" - was the caravel that pipped Columbus himself to the Americas and back. It sailed with Santa Maria and Nina from Huelva on 3 Aug 1492, though its rudder needed replacing in the Canary Islands, whence the expedition sailed into the unknown for five weeks. A great reward was promised to whoever first spotted land and on the night of 11 Oct the crew of Pinta did so - San Salvador island in the Bahamas. They alerted Columbus, who ever after fibbed that he'd been the first, and scooped the reward. Santa Maria had to be abandoned when it ran aground off Hispaniola, so Columbus transferred to Nina. On the return voyage in Jan 1493 via the Azores, the ships were separated in storms; Columbus reached Lisbon on 4 March, but Pinta had already reached Baiona on 1 March. Its replica now sits in the harbour.
Get in
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The closest airport is Vigo (VGO IATA), 30 km. This has frequent flights from Madrid, and daily from Barcelona, but not much internationally.
Santiago de Compostela (SVQ IATA) (129 km) and Porto (160 km) have much more tourist traffic and a better selection of international flights.
Vigo also has the closest railway, with two stations 500 m apart. Urzáiz is the main station, with four trains a day from Madrid. Guixar station has two trains a day from Porto.
Baiona is the terminus of motorway AG-57. This is a spur off AP-9, which transects Galicia from A Coruña in the north to Tui on the border with Portugal. From Madrid take A-6 to Benevente then A-52 through Ourense.
Lugove Buses 2 a-e run from Vigo hourly, taking 46 min. Two per day continue down the coast to A Guarda.
1 Baiona bus station is just a bus shelter along Rua Venezuela. The buses also make multiple stops along the waterfront.
Get around
[edit]The main sights are within walking distance, and you can use the bus to get along the waterfront.
Taxis in town are Taxi Baiona (+34 98 635 5389), Pide Taxi (+34 60 624 4664), Miriam Goce (+34 61 921 9530), Nerea (+34 62 372 8618) and Taxi Mercedes (+34 65 561 5145). There's a taxi rank at the port by the ferry pier.
See
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- Monterreal Castle is a fortress on the peninsula of Monte Boi, built in stages from the 12th to 16th century. It's nowadays a Parador hotel, see below, but non-residents can stroll around its ramparts for only €1.
- 1 Caravel La Pinta, Rua Elduayen, ☏ +34 98 635 6688. Tu-Su 10:30-13:00, 16:00-19:00. Full-scale replica of Columbus' ship La Pinta with small museum. Adult €2.
- Casa de la Navegación is a small maritime museum at Ventura Misa 17, a block back from the harbour, open Tu-Sa 10:00-13:00, 16:00-19:00.
- 2 Church of Santa María, Praza Santa Liberata, ☏ +34 98 635 5003. Sturdy church built in Romanesque style in the 13th century. From 1482 to 1840 it was a "collegiate" church - it didn't have permanent priest, but staff of the local seminary took turns - but then became a conventional parish church.
- Chapel of Santa Liberata from 1695 is in the plaza east side of the church. Liberata is probably the same as the saint variously known as Wilgefortis in Portuguese, Uncumber in English, Kümmernis in German, Frasobliwa in Polish, and Débarras in French. None of this motley crew ever existed, but were invented in the 14th century, luckily for Liberata-Wilgefortis-etcetera-etcetera, as she was supposedly the first woman to be crucified. Her father promised her in marriage to a Moorish king, so she prayed to remain a virgin and to be made repulsive. As a result she grew a beard and the marriage was off (perhaps those swarthy Moors lacked shaving tackle) so her furious father had her crucified.
- 3 Virgin of the Rock (Virxe da Rocha) is a stone monument 15 m tall. Construction began in 1910 when a cache was laid containing two bronze coins, two silver and two gold. This precursor to crowd-funding didn't altogether work so it was only in 1930 that they could afford to complete it. The Virgin cradles a boat in her right hand: this is a viewing balcony reached by a spiral stairway within the hollow structure.
- 4 Holy Trinity Cross is a 15th century Gothic cross that unusually has a canopy.
- 5 Hermitage of Santa Marta on a small peninsula is a 13th century Romanesque chapel.
- 6 Ramalosa Marshes is a wetland nature reserve with bike trails.
- 7 Islas Cíes
are an archipelago 10 km north, with beaches, nature, bird watching, diving and snorkelling. Boat trips sail in summer from Baiona and Vigo: the operator for both is Mar de Ons.
Do
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- Beaches: those on the Monterreal Castle peninsula are small and mostly seashell. The best town beach is Praia Ladeira east of the Santa Marta peninsula.
- El Camino: Baiona is the start point of one of the pilgrimage routes to Santiago. It's 120 km: the minimum distance required to earn a pilgrim certificate is 100 km, so more pilgrims start from Vigo.
- Monte Real Yacht Club is next to the Parador. It has a sailing school and organises regattas.
- Football: Erizana CF play soccer down in the amateur leagues. Their stadium is between the bus station and Plaza Santa Liberata.
- Festa da Arribada is held on the weekend closest to 1 March, commemorating the 1493 return of Pinta from the Americas.
Buy
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- Supermarket: Froiz is on Marqués de Quintanar and Eroski is on Os Tendales, both open M-Sa to 21:30.
- Rua Elduayen is a retail strip on the waterfront.
Eat
[edit]- Refuxio, Ventura Misa 44 (block back from harbour), ☏ +34 98 635 7483. Daily 12:00-17:00, 20:00-00:30. Mostly tapas, but they also do steaks.
- El Túnel at Ventura Misa 21 serves Galician fare, mostly shellfish, open daily 11:00-23:00.
- Mosquito, Rúa Elduayen 3 (harbour), ☏ +34 98 635 5036. M 13:00-16:00, W-Su 13:00-16:00, 20:30-23:00. Good seafood, service variable.
- Mendoza, Rúa Elduayen 1 (harbour), ☏ +34 98 635 7279. M-Sa 20:30-00:00, Su 08:30-17:00. Good scores for seafood.
Drink
[edit]- Ventura Misa is the street a block back from the harbour, with a dozen bars.
- The Blacksmith is an Irish pub at Av Monterreal 11, open daily 18:00-01:30.
- Wine: the wine-growing regions of Galicia mostly produce crisp whites, similar to Portuguese wine.
- Villa Rosa is a disco at Av Joselín 2 near the turn-off for Monterreale, open Th-Su midnight to 06:00.
Sleep
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- 1 Hotel Anunciada, Rúa Ventura Misa 58, ☏ +34 98 635 6018. Simple hotel on waterfront, some street noise, breakfast a tad monastic. B&B double €100.
- Bahia Bayona (aka Pinzón) is on the waterfront 50 m northwest of Anunciada, similar price and quality.
- 2 O Escondidiño, Río da Veiga 6, ☏ +34 68 693 6567. Peaceful friendly hotel in town centre.
- 3 Hostal Santa Marta Playa, Santa Marta 6, ☏ +34 98 635 7358. Clean and quiet.
- 4 Parador de Baiona, Av Arquitecto Jesús Valverde 3, ☏ +34 98 635 5000. Upscale Parador in the former Monterreal Castle on a peninsula. B&B double €230.
- 5 Camping Bayona Playa, Av José Pereira Troncoso 2, Playa Ladeira, ☏ +34 98 635 0035. Cabins and caravan plots at Ladeira beach. Plot €36.
Connect
[edit]As of March 2025, Baiona and its approach roads from the east have 4G from Movistar and Vodafone, and 5G from MasMovil and Orange. There's variable coverage along the coast west.
Go next
[edit]- Vigo is a busy fishing port.
- Santiago de Compostela has a magnificent old city centre.
- O Guarda is 20 km south along the coast. Ascend Santa Tecla which has a celtic fort, and views over the Miño estuary to Portugal.
- No crossing there, head upriver to the town of Tui, where you can cross the border to Valença.