Santiago de Compostela at the end of the Camino Portugues

Santiago. You made it.

Start in the Plaza del Obradoiro — kilometre zero, marked by a scallop shell and plaque in the centre of the square. The Obradoiro facade of the Cathedral, completed in the 18th century, is the Baroque frame for Maestro Mateo's 12th-century Portico de la Gloria behind it.

If you want your Compostela — the certificate of completion — visit the Pilgrim's Office. From the Plaza, face the Parador (the grand building on your left if you're facing the Cathedral), look for the road going downhill to the left, pass the public restrooms, turn right at the next street, and follow it to the end.

The Cathedral demands at least two visits. Walk it plaza by plaza: the Puerta de la Azabacheria faces the Monasterio de San Martin Pinario to the north; the Obradoiro opens west; the Puerta de las Platerias faces south, named for the silver workshops still operating below; the Plaza de Quintana and the Puerta del Perdon (the Holy Door, opened only in Holy Years) face east. Go early, before the crowds.

The crypt and the embrace of Santiago's bust are best experienced in the morning quiet. The botafumeiro — arguably the world's largest thurible — swings across the transept on ropes pulled by eight tiraboleiros.

The Monasterio de San Martin Pinario is so large you'll find yourself next to it from almost every direction north of the Cathedral. Its facade descends rather than ascends to its doors — the architects dug downward rather than compromise on height after the Archbishop decreed that no building should exceed the Cathedral in elevation.

San Fiz de Solovio, near the Mercado de Abastos, is the oldest building site in Santiago. The hermit San Pelayo was praying here when the lights in the sky called him to the field where Santiago's tomb was found. Excavations have revealed foundations and a necropolis dating to the 6th century.

The Mercado de Abastos is Galicia at its most practical — utilitarian architecture, no-nonsense vendors, many of them second, third, or fifth-generation operators. The produce is excellent and the atmosphere is unadorned. The buildings date from the 1940s but replace ones that stood for 300 years.

Alameda Park, south of the old town, overlooks the Cathedral. In the Plaza de Quintana, after dark, look for the hidden pilgrim — a shadow cast by the Cathedral stonework, visible only at night.

Stay at least one extra day. The web of stone streets will bring you back to the Cathedral every time you think you've escaped it.