The Parador of Santo Estevo (Galicia) has been recognised as one of the most beautiful Paradors in Spain. This former monastery is now a hotel where you can stay and disconnect from the world, in the Ribeira Sacra of Galicia.
This parador was a Benedictine monastery that dates back to the 10th century and was extended in the following centuries. It has a total of three cloisters that can be visited, one Romanesque, one Gothic and one Renaissance.
Both for its beautiful architecture and its state of preservation, as well as for the nature that surrounds it, if you want to visit the interior of Galicia and are looking for a quiet and inspiring place to spend a few days, the Parador de Santo Estevo is an option that you should take into account.
Tips for staying at the Parador and visiting the surrounding area
Spain's Paradors are unique buildings that for various reasons have been converted into hotels, allowing these historic sites to be preserved in good condition and giving visitors the opportunity to enter and spend a few days in these impressive buildings.
Among the diversity of existing Paradors (see https://paradores.es ), the Parador de Santo Estevo (Monasterio de Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil) is one of the most beautiful and emblematic. The place was recently restored and reopened as a parador, converting the monks' cells into hotel rooms (77 rooms) and converting some of its rooms into the restaurant and other services of the parador, but at the same time preserving its exterior architecture as well as many of its emblematic rooms, cloisters, corridors and staircases.
The parador is located in the canyon of the Sil River, in the province of Ourense, 25 km from Ourense city. It is located in the middle of the mountainous nature, surrounded by forest in a small village of no more than 20 houses. The usual way to get there is by car (there is a car park at the entrance), however the access route is complicated and often the GPS does not recognise the roads well.
The parador has rooms with views of both the interior and the surrounding forest. Guests can visit the inside of the building and see the various rooms and halls where the monks lived (cloisters, kitchens, living rooms, monks' cells -now converted into hotel rooms-, an old oven-bakery in an area near the monastery, etc.). Guided tours of the interior, including dramatised visits, are also scheduled.
The place has a restaurant and cafeteria, and we recommend you try the restaurant's menu with traditional Galician food from the area. It also has a spa/jacuzzi area.
Around the building there are several excursions by foot of different levels of difficulty and length. Among them there is a circular path down from the mountain to the river, which starts and ends at the door of the parador.
If you are goint to stay several days at the parador you can visit the nearby villages, as well as other places and nature within the Ribeira Sacra.
Other nearby places to visit in Galicia
- Ourense: A curious place to visit in Ourense are its natural spas (termas, natural hot springs). There are several of them in the city and surroundings.
- Vigo: Among the places to see near Vigo, we recommend visiting the island of La Toja (Illa da Toxa), and take a boat ride in the surroundings (Boat of the mussels).
- Other places to visit are Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, or the famous Playa de las Catedrales.
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