Parque Monte del Castro
Paseo cedros, Vigo, Spain
Poking up above the center of Vigo, the Parque Monte del Castro is an elegant hilltop park within the walls and remains of Castro’s Fortress. Garden beds, sculptures, and ponds decorate the park terraces, while the fortress ramparts offer sweeping views across the city of Vigo and the wider area’s coastal scenery.
Even though the Parque Monte del Castro offers some of the best views in Vigo, only the occasional tour takes you up the hill to see it. Fortunately, it’s an easy place to explore on your own, and with no need to worry about admission, you can spend as long here as you like, though 30 minutes is usually enough. After admiring its gardens and seeing its views, many stop at the park’s fountainside café before returning to the city center.
Admission is free to the park and Castro’s Fortress.
Lower areas of the park include several children’s playgrounds and a skatepark.
Outer areas of the park are mostly wheelchair-accessible, but deeper parts, including the main parts of the fortress, are not.
The Parque Monte del Castro is south of the Casco Vello neighborhood and southwest of Vigo city center. Walking up to the top of the park from the city center takes around 30 minutes of gradual uphill walking. Alternatively, you can drive up and park for free along Paseo Rosalía de Castro or take the hop-on hop-off bus to the Monte de O Castro roundabout at its main entrance.
While you can visit Parque Monte del Castro throughout the day, sunset is the most popular time to make the most of its excellent viewpoints. Summers in Vigo tend to be milder thanks to the Galician climate, so you should find that it’s still comfortable to walk up even during July and August.
At the bottom of the hill on the western side of Parque Monte del Castro is the Castro de Vigo, ruins from an early settlement. The archaeological site includes some old foundations of ancient houses on the hill’s grassy slopes, as well as several recreated homes that give a sense of how the inhabitants of Vigo lived more than 2,000 years ago.
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