Vigo remained a relatively small walled fishing town until the 19th century. From the late 18th century, Catalan entrepreneurs developed sardine-salting and later canning businesses, helping drive the growth of the fishing port, shipyards and modern industrial city.
During the Peninsular War, a local uprising expelled the French garrison occupying Vigo on 28 March 1809. The event, known as the Reconquista, helped earn Vigo city status the following year and is re-enacted each March in the Casco Vello.
When entering and leaving Vigo, you may notice that official waymarking is absent. Look for Camino arrows displayed in shop windows instead.
What to see in Vigo
Concatedral-Basílica de Santa María de Vigo
The present Concatedral was designed by Melchor de Prado in 1811, after years of deterioration in the earlier church and further damage during the Peninsular War. Its first stone was laid in 1816, and the church was consecrated in 1836, although parts of the building were still unfinished. Inside is the Cristo da Vitoria, an older image associated by popular devotion with Vigo's expulsion of French troops in 1809.
A large olive tree once stood in the atrium of the earlier church and became a symbol of Vigo, which is still known as the cidade olívica ("Olive City"). In 2016, a bicentenary olive tree was planted beside the Concatedral to restore that historic connection.
Where to stay in Vigo
