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, is re-enacted each March in the Casco Vello and helped earn Vigo city status the following year.
When making your way into and out of Vigo, you might notice the official waymarking to be absent. Try looking for arrows in shop windows instead.
Qué ver en Vigo
Concatedral-Basílica de Santa María de Vigo
The present Concatedral was built between 1811 and 1836, replacing an earlier church damaged during the Peninsular War. 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 the symbol of Vigo, which is still known as the "cidade olívica" (Olive City). A new olive tree was planted beside the Concatedral in 2016 to restore that historic connection.
Dónde alojarse en Vigo
