The Alameda — Paseo da Ferradura

The Alameda is the city's park, on the hill immediately west of the old town, and the Paseo da Ferradura is the horseshoe-shaped walk that runs around it. From the eastern arm of that horseshoe you get the view of Santiago that ends up on every cover: the cathedral's towers rising out of a mass of granite roofs, framed by oak branches, with the whole old town between you and it.

The framing is already done for you — the trees close the top and sides of the picture, so a couple on the path in the foreground gives a complete image with no cropping. Elsewhere in the park there are eucalyptus groves, a bandstand, a formal avenue, and the statues of the Dúas Marías, two sisters who walked here every afternoon and are now cast in bronze in their bright clothes.

Late afternoon is the light: the cathedral's west front faces the park, so the low sun lands directly on the towers while the roofs below fall into shade. In winter that happens by four o'clock. After rain — which is most weeks in Galicia — the granite goes almost black and the towers stand out further.

The park is free, open and five minutes from the cathedral. Weather is the only planning problem: bring a plan for rain rather than a plan against it, because the wet stone, the mist over the roofs and the umbrellas are what Santiago actually looks like.