Most people give this charming city a pass. But, it's worth a detour. Use Ourense as a base. You are about an hour from the Ribera Sacra (which is amazing) and you can come back at the end of a long day to the rustic charm of Ourense. Ourense has a lively, yet small tapas scene around the 4-5 squares. The mercado is fun and lively in the early morning. Lot's of ladies selling local produce from their small plots - grelos, potatoes, maybe even berries. There are also working ancient Roman baths just outside of downtown.
I would return in a flash.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

I stumbled across A Casa Da Eira B&B on the net while planning our trip to northern Spain in spring 2006. We contacted the owners via email, and had a prompt response (no language problems, Susanne, the owner, speaks English, German, French, Spanish and Gallego – the local language).

After a long drive we found A Casa da Eira: a wonderful old farmhouse that has been completely renovated. It has great common areas and a nice backyard to RELAX. Susanne and her husband were wonderful hosts - breakfast each morning was delicious and included freshly squeezed orange juice and local produce. They also went through a lot of trouble to help us book things and provide us with maps and relevant information about the area. The website gives a good idea about what can be done, whether you're after a quiet relaxing trip, a cultural heritage trip, an outdoors adventure trip with hiking and horse riding, or the local crafts and food. It really was a wonderful 4 days.

The main tourist area is the Ribeira Sacra (which means more or less "the holy riverbanks" due to the numerous monastries to be found there) and the River Sil Canyon.

A Casa da Eira
www.acasadaeira.com/ingles/
nearest airports (lowcost): Vigo, Santiago de Compostela
Want to see at google earth?:maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&z=14&ll=42.386064,-7.63979&spn=0.029669,0.05785&om=1

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends