Logbook · 12 places

What to see and do in Burela

What to see and do in Burela (Mariña Central, Lugo): 12 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 3 Monuments · 4 Nature · 1 Activities · 2 Curiosities · 1 Food and drink

How far each place is from the centre of Burela

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Spain › Galicia › Lugo › Mariña Central › Burela

What to see and do in Burela

Burela
Village
Burela is a coastal municipality in Lugo province, in the Mariña Central comarca of Galicia, covering 7.78 square kilometres with around 9,500 inhabitants, making it the most densely populated municipality in the province. It was created on 15 December 1994 when it split off from the parish of the same name in the municipality of Cervo. Its fishing port, one of the most important on the Cantabrian coast, ranks first on the Cantabrian coast for bonito landings and also stands out for hake and swordfish; around this activity a canning industry has developed, along with shipyards and ceramics workshops. Owing to the demand for labour at sea, Burela is today a multicultural centre with a large Cape Verdean community established since the late 1970s.
Church of a Vila do Medio
Monument
A parish church abandoned in 1962 whose 15th-century late Gothic wall paintings stayed hidden under limewash until in 1973 some children looking for a ball discovered them. They preserve the Flagellation and the Entombment.
Roman hypocaust of Burela
Monument
Remains of an underfloor heating system of the 2nd and 3rd centuries found beside the harbour, proof that on this stretch of coast there was a Roman villa with rooms heated in the Mediterranean manner.
Hillfort of Burela
Nature
A pre-Roman fortified settlement on which much of the town's ancient history rests; in the area of Chao de Castro the gold torc that today appears on the municipal coat of arms was found in 1945. The castro sits on raised ground next to the Cantabrian Sea, with occupation dated to the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, and preserves access walls largely filled in with earth and a ramp still visible, perfectly recognisable from Burela's seafront promenade, alongside which the road runs. The croa, or highest part, with its walls, can be made out, along with the entrance ramp, the internal dividing walls and the defensive walls associated with ditches; very close by is the Chao do Castro, another castrexo settlement with which it is often confused despite being a distinct site.
Beach of a Marosa
Nature
A blue flag beach on the town's shoreline, one of the three in the municipality that hold the award along with O Portelo and Ril; it opens onto the Cantabrian Sea a short way from the promenade that links the town with the port.
Beach of o Portelo
Nature
A beach awarded the blue flag, very close to the port that makes Burela the leading bonito port on the Cantabrian coast and where hake accounts for around half of the fish market's turnover.
Torc of Burela
Curiosity
A 23-carat gold castrexo torc, 21.1 centimetres in diameter and around 1,800 grams, the largest in Galicia. It was found at Chao de Castro in 1945, is kept in the Museo Provincial de Lugo and appears on the town's coat of arms.
Open-Air Museum of the Port of Burela
Monument
Since 2017 the harbour breakwater has hosted the murals of the AMARTE international mural painting competition, which adds new works every August and has turned the port's concrete into an open-air gallery.
Albacore Tuna Fair of Burela
Activity
The Feira do Bonito de Burela is held in the town's harbour on the first weekend of August, coinciding with the midpoint of the fishing season, since 1985; it has been organised from the outset by the Asociación Cultural Ledicia, with the collaboration of the Cofradía de Pescadores San Xoán Bautista and ABSA, and since 2019 it has been declared a fiesta de interés turístico nacional (official Spanish state tourism distinction). To promote albacore tuna, this fish is cooked according to different recipes and handed out among those attending -grilled, boiled and in empanada-; it is preceded by the Produart fair, also held in the harbour.
Beach of Ril
Nature
A small sandy beach in the municipal district of Burela, sheltered by the point that closes the port; together with A Marosa and O Portelo it completes the short strip of beaches of one of the smallest concellos of the Mariña.
Cape Verdean community of Burela
Curiosity
Since the seventies, sailors arriving from Cape Verde signed on with the deep-sea fleet of Burela and put down roots with their families; today they form one of the largest Cape Verdean colonies in Spain.
Northern albacore of Burela
Food and drink
White tuna caught by trolling by the Burela fleet between June and September, one of the economic drivers of the port of Burela; it is eaten fresh in pie, in rolls or as ventresca throughout the fishing season. In its honour the Feira do Bonito has been held since 1985, declared a Fiesta de Interés Turístico de Galicia (an official tourist-interest festival designation), taking place on the first Saturday of August, coinciding with the midpoint of the season; the fish is shared among those attending, grilled, boiled or in an empanada.