Pontevedra

Find pulperías in the back streets and sample the octopus. It's delicious--and generally far cheaper than elsewhere in Spain. Pulpo a la Gallega is a wonderful dish of boiled octopus served on a bed of boiled potatoes, sprayed with olive oil, spicy paprika and sea salt. Like so much Spanish food it sounds ridiculously simple and is stunningly delicious

Galician gastronomy includes a wide variety of foods. Galician stew caldo gallego can be made with sausage chorizo, ham, beef, or chicken, and contains chickpeas garbanzos, potatoes, cabbage, and other leafy vegetables. "Lacón con grelos" is very common all over the region: pork cooked with turnip, potatoes and chorizo. Both are typical winter dishes. Although fabada, made from fabas large white beans, smoked morcilla blood sausage, chorizo, and manteca lard is usually considered Asturian food, some excellent versions can also be found in Galicia.

Being so close to the sea, Galician cooking has plenty of seafood, including recipes for hake, turbot, sole, grouper and sea bass, squid, octopus, mussels, and velvet swimming crabs. And the list goes on: clams and oysters, spiny lobsters, European lobsters, triple-grooved shrimp, and scallops.

“Empanadas” are also popular: a flaky pastry stuffed with any of a variety of fillings, including ham, chicken, chorizo, potatoes and other vegetables, cheese, and olives.

Some typical desserts are: Santiago Tart almond-based and “filloas”, thin pancakes made from wheat. One of the best ways to end a walking tour is to stop in a pastelería and pick up a treat or two.