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
[edit]
Tui is the spelling in Galician and Portuguese. The Castilian Spanish spelling is Tuy.
Get in
[edit]The nearest airport is in Vigo which rather serves domestic destinations and international one-stop connections by Iberia. Direct international flights you will rather find to Santiago de Compostela or even more likely to the airport of Porto.
From Vigo there are direct buses to Tui and trains to Valença and Guillarei.
From Santiago you need to change in Vigo.
From Porto take a train to Valença. Some trains are direct. For others you need to change in Nine (in Vila Nova de Famalicão).
As of January 2025 there are generally only trains stopping in Valença and 1 Guillarei 
, the latter some 3 km north-east of Tui centre, but not in the train station of Tui.
Two bridges connect Tui and Valença: Tui International Bridge (known in Portugal as Valença International Bridge), completed in 1878, and a modern one from the 1990s. Both countries are signatories of the Schengen Treaty, so there are normally no formalities in crossing the border-point with Northern Portugal. There is no public transport between both towns. You need to walk over the pedestrian bridge.
Get around
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Almost everything in Tui is a 10-minute walk away. Otherwise, you should rent or have a car to move.
See
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The town centre is near the Inn of San Telmo. The town has two museums, one dedicated to archaeology and sacred art, and the other is the diocesan museum.
- 1 Catedral de Santa María, Praza de San Fernando, ☏ +34 986 60 05 11. 09:00–14:00 and 16:00–20:00. On the top of the hill, the fortified cathedral (11th–13th century) preserves Romanesque elements in its main vestibule, and the Gothic period in the western vestibule.
- 2 Monte Aloia (10 minutes away by car). Natural park of 7.5 km2 (2.9 sq mi), the first in Galicia. Trails of 0.6–3.2 km.
- The fluvial beaches in Guillarei and Caldelas.
- The Alameda park and Mariña promenade, which are linked to each other.
- The Corredoira.
Do
[edit]Tui is a great town to just have a relaxing stroll. There's plenty of things to see, from museums to the cathedral. It's is a really good centre for seeing Pontevedra Province of Galicia and the Minho province of Portugal.
Buy
[edit]In the town centre are multiple ATMs.
And the town centre has the large supermarkets Gadis Hiper and Mercadona. There are also the mid-sized supermarkets Lidl and PrimaPrix.
Eat
[edit]Budget
[edit]- Bocatería Fornos.
- Santiamen.
- Taperia O Albergue.
- Restaurante Arte Pizza.
- Manc's burguer.
- Pizzería Di Marco Tropical.
- Hamburguesería CasaBlanca.
Mid-range
[edit]- 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.
- Restaurante Tapería Época.
- Restaurante La de Manu.
- Merendeiro Aloia (near the summit of Monte Aloia). The quality of the food is great, and the prices reasonable.
Drink
[edit]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
[edit]Connect
[edit]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
[edit]- 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.
| Routes through Tui |
| Santiago de Compostela ← Vigo ← | N  S
|
→  continues as   → Ponte de Lima → Porto
|