Santiago de Compostela - Spain
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of Galicia in the northwest corner of Spain.
It's one of the country's most beautiful cities, famed throughout the world as the destination for millions of pilgrims who have trodden the path of the Camino de Santiago for more than a thousand years. It's beautiful old quarter is a living museum of narrow, winding streets, magnificent Romanesque and Baroque buildings, plazas, cloisters and elegant arcades.
The city owes its origins to Saint James ("Santiago") who visited this part of Spain to preach Christianity. At the time, the area's Latin name was Finis Terrae, meaning the End of the World as it then appeared to be.
Saint James was tortured and murdered by the Romans after his return to Palestine in 44 AD. His body was retrieved by fellow disciples and brought back to northern Spain for a secret burial in a wood.
The apostle's final resting place was discovered in the 9th century and a chapel was built in his name. The chapel later became a magnificent cathedral around which the town developed and the famous Santiago Way was born.
Visitors from around the world still make the journey along the Camino de Santiago although for many these days it's more of a holiday than a religious pilgrimage.
The city's history makes it the third holiest religious site in the Christian world, after Jerusalem and Rome. In 1993 the entire city was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation).
The Santiago Way has been designated as the First European Cultural Itinerary - if you've got a few weeks to spare and a sturdy constitution it's a great way to explore northern Spain.
You could spend a fortnight walking the well-marked route from Leon, 350 kilometres to the east of Santiago. Many make the 730-kilometre journey all the way from Roncesvalles in the Pyrenees whilst other spend two months hiking from Le Puy in the middle of France.
To qualify for the Compostela, the traditional Latin certificate of pilgrimage, the cathedral authorities in Santiago require that pilgrims must 1) carry the 'credencial' or pilgrim passport, and produce it, stamped and dated; 2) have walked or ridden on horseback the last 100 km to Santiago, or cycled the last 200 km, and 3) declare a spiritual or religious motivation.
There is a certificado, also in Latin, for those making the journey for other reasons.