Ribadeo is situated at the most northeast point of Galicia, in the Lugo Province, with the Cantabrian Sea north of it and the Ribadeo Estuary on the east. It has 9.704 inhabitants. Its climate is warm and temperate and its average annual temperature is 14ºC.
It was founded in the twelfth century, when the Spanish kings favored the city with the privilege to have a market, something which helped in the development of its commerce. In this way, Ribadeo was converted to an urban nucleus. In 1812, its City Hall was created. It was protected by walls, until the nineteenth century, in which the wall came down together with other constructions which had been significant during centuries.
The continual growth of the harbor-city was reflected on the new constructions and the new cultural societies which were founded between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth. We must mention the construction of the Bridge of the Saints (Puente de los Santos) in 1987, because it facilitated the communication among important parts of the city.
One of the places worth visiting in Ribadeo is the archaeological site of Louselas, which is 300.000 years old. The Castle of As Grobas in Vilaselán is also impressive. There are also other buildings, of religious nature this time, such as the Atalaya Chapel, which is one of the oldest ones in Ribadeo as well as the Convent of Saint Clara, with its absolutely beautiful eighteenth-century cloister. Besides all these examples of architectural patrimony of Ribadeo, the most characteristic building of the city is the Moreno Tower (Torre de los Moreno). Other buildings which stand out are the Castle of Saint Damian, of the seventeenth century, and the great mansions such as the one of Cedofeita, going back to the fifteenth century, which is surrounded by a wall.
Ribadeo´s cuisine uses a lot of seafood and fish from the sea or the estuary. Every year, there is the festivity of Percebe in Rinlo, San Pedro in order to show the big variety of the local cuisine. There is also the Festivity of Meat (Fiesta de la carne) in Caldeiro, where traditional dishes of Galician beef cooked with paprika can be tasted. There are also numerous places where one can taste “tapas” (Spanish-style appetizers), which is a good and enjoyable option. Tapa-tasting usually includes other activities and competitions too.
