Tui

Tui is a town of 17,000 people (2018) in Galicia on the right bank of the Miño River, facing the Portuguese town of Valença. Its medieval city is the second largest by area in Galicia.

Understand
Tui is the spelling in Galician and Portuguese. The Castilian Spanish spelling is Tuy.

Get in
Bus from Vigo to A Guarda.

Two bridges connect Tui and Valença: Tui International Bridge (known in Portugal as Valença International Bridge), completed in 1878, and a modern one from the 1990s. Both countries are signatories of the Schengen Treaty, so there are normally no formalities in crossing the border-point with Northern Portugal.

Train: Tui station only serves trains from Vigo into Portugal; not into the rest of Spain.

Get around
Almost everything in Tui is a 10-minute walk away. Otherwise, you should rent or have a car to move.

See
The town centre is near the Inn of San Telmo.

On the top of the hill, the fortified cathedral (11th–13th century) preserves Romanesque elements in its main vestibule, and the Gothic period in the western vestibule.

The town has two museums, one dedicated to archaeology and sacred art, and the other is the diocesan museum.

The natural park Monte Aloia, 10 minutes away by car.

The fluvial beaches in Guillarei and Caldelas.

The Alameda park and Mariña promenade, which are linked to each other.

The Corredoira.

Do
Tui is a great town to just have a relaxing stroll. There's plenty of things to see, from museums to the cathedral. It's is a really good centre for seeing Pontevedra Province of Galicia and the Minho province of Portugal.

Eat
If you want tapas, O Alboio, facing the main entry of the cathedral, is the best place to go. Albeit a bit pricey (for local standards) the quality of the food is top notch.

If you want a serious, and pricey, meal, the Silabario is a restaurant which had a Michelin star.

If you are visiting the natural park Monte Aloia, there's a restaurant near the summit. The quality of the food is great, and the prices reasonable.

Drink
There are plenty of pubs and clubs in the town. The clubs remain open until 06:00 in many cases, so you'll have plenty of time to socialize.

Go next

 * Tui is a common starting point for walking the Portuguese Way of the Way of St. James to Santiago de Compostela. Get a pilgrim's passport and a stamp on it before commencing the pilgrimage.