Pontevedra · Galicia
Pontevedra
The quintessential old Galego town — compact, charming and very tourist-friendly, its old quarter always lively, supposedly founded by a Greek hero returning from the Trojan War.
What Pontevedra is like
Portrait drawn from Lonely Planet, the Michelin Green Guide & The Rough Guide.
Just back from the open sea at the head of its namesake ría, at the last bend in the Río Lérez.
On the table. Colonnaded squares buzz with local life; a Sunday paseo when the whole town hits the streets.
Worth the trip
- Praza da Peregrina, with the Baroque Santuario da Virxe Peregrina, its floor shaped like a scallop shell
- Basílica de Santa María, built by the sailors' guild, with busts of Columbus and Hernán Cortés; Columbus's flagship Santa María was built here
- Os Maios festival, lasting the whole of May
Fiestas
- Os Maios, throughout May
A little history
Supposedly founded by a Greek hero returning from the Trojan War; prospered as a medieval fishing port.
Who it suits: Pilgrims on the Camino Portugués · Old-town wanderers
The numbers
The decision data — each figure against the Spanish average. Regional overlays and estimates are labelled, and where there's no local reading we say so plainly.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 10.5°C 2.7°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 25.8°C 4.4°C below the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 130 days 90% more than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- 6.2 h/day 14% less than the Spanish average (7.2 h/day)
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 7 49 below the Spanish average (56)
Cost & economy
- Home price
- €2,084/m² 6% less than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
- Net income per person
- €15,483 7% more than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 25.5%
Safety
- Recorded crime
- 38.9 per 1,000 12% less than the Spanish average (44 per 1,000)
Schools
- Schools in town
- 53
- Nearest international school
- 3 km
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 486 5 above the Spanish average (481)
Healthcare
- Drive to a hospital
- 0 min
- Nearest health centre
- no local data
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 73 days 32% less than the Spanish average (108 days)
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 28 min
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 95% 16% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 98% 14% above the Spanish average (83%)
Who lives here
- Population
- 83,339
- Born in Spain
- 88.2% 0.6% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 1.7% 2.1% below the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 1.25 per 1,000
Numbers: SettleSpain town dataset, derived from INE, AEMET, Mitma, Ministerio del Interior and the Catastro. National average = the unweighted mean across all 8,132 Spanish municipalities with data. A blank means no municipal-level figure is published — not a zero.
How does Pontevedra fit you?
These are the town's numbers. Whether it's your town depends on what you're optimising for — winter sun or mild summers, a city or a village, short medical waits, an easy flight home. The 3-minute quiz scores Pontevedra against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 32 min from Vigo, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Pontevedra for you →Nearby towns
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