Our experience working directly with our clients all these years obliges us to share information about the city that has always been useful to Hotel Altaïr’s customer profile:

Things to do:

• Go on a panoramic tour of the Old Town at your own pace by renting an audio-guide from the Santiago Tourism office (available in 6 languages), without overlooking any corner, enjoying the quality content and how it is related, this is the way. More info.
• Hire an exclusive guide service featuring tours and excursions with its fleet of comfortable vehicles, enjoying customised, quality service in different languages; if you can, don’t miss this chance to enjoying something more authentic and personalised. More info
• Combine a guided tour of Santiago’s Old Town with access to the cathedral museums, the possibility of going up to the Cathedral rooftops and witnessing, every Friday at 7.30 pm, the flight of the Bofumeiro censer –undoubtedly, a fairly complete and interesting day.

Speaking about food…

Galician gastronomy is honest cuisine. With the quality of its ingredients, it doesn’t need a lot of decoration to be enjoyed. Here are some details...

• Santiago is an exponent of Galician gastronomy and is the perfect excuse for trying “pulpo a feira,” boiled octopus with oil and paprika and sometimes “cachelos” (potatoes boiled along with the octopus), for those who’ve never dared to before. Give it a go, especially in a “pulpería” (octopus restaurant), since it will have been recently cooked in a copper pot, although there are other variations, such as grilled or served with clams, which are also worth trying.
• In Galicia and Santiago, our local seafood and fish are famous for their quality: cockles, mussels, variegated scallops, clams, scallops, spider crabs, Norway lobsters, velvet crabs, shrimps, barnacles and the mysterious “santiaguiño” with St. James’ cross on its head. They are best enjoyed in months containing the letter “R.”
• Galician pie (“empanada”) with all of its varieties of “zaragallada” (filling in the Galician language) is an option all year long and, when eaten straight out of the oven, a real pleasure for the senses.
• Summer is a good time for trying local produce such as tomatoes that taste like tomatoes or fleshly lettuces, which can be paired with wonderful “xoubas” (small sardines), or famous “pimientos de padrón,” small green peppers that are famous for the saying “uns pican e outros non” (some are hot and others are not); all of these are options that can’t be missed.
• Due to the importance of Galicia’s primary sector, as regards both agriculture and stockbreeding, our local produce, such as veal or pork, is famous all over Spain for its quality. If you come in the winter, you must try Galician stew (made with “grelos” or flowering turnip tops) and “filloas” (Galician crepes). 
• Santiago is a good place for “chatear” (having some wines), a deep-rooted Galician custom where we love sharing tapas or portions with friends. If you want to enjoy this custom, you can do so very close to the hotel in the San Roque-A Troia area, in the Garum, Bodeguilla de San Roque, Casa Felisa, Forest or Bierzo Enxebre. The Franco-A Raína area, with more than 70 bars in less than 200 metres, or the area of the “plaza de abastos” (food market) with the Altamira, Abastos 2.0, Milongas, A Sucursal o Casa Pepe are also good options. The choice is yours.

Speaking about shopping, we suggest…

• If you’re looking for multi-services, as regards shops and services such as beauty treatments, hairdressing and accessories, featuring most of the main franchises, both El Corte Inglés department store and the As Cancelas shopping centre will meet your needs.
• If you’re looking for Galician fashion apart from Zara and its partner brands, we suggest 4 options that you can visit during a relaxing stroll: Florentino, Adolfo Domínguez, Roberto Verino and Purificación García.
• If you prefer quality multi-brands with personalised advice, Marga Charol and Garysom is your shop.
• And if you want to enter a city classic that is more than 100 years old to buy a nice hat, the Iglesias hat shop, almost opposite Garysom, is a real experience.