Logbook · 9 places

What to see and do in O Barco de Valdeorras

What to see and do in O Barco de Valdeorras (Valdeorras, Ourense): 9 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 3 Monuments · 3 Activities · 1 Curiosities · 1 Food and drink

How far each place is from the centre of O Barco de Valdeorras

Towns near O Barco de Valdeorras

What to see in Rubiá 4.6 km · 9 places
What to see in Vilamartín de Valdeorras 6.2 km · 9 places
What to see in Carballeda de Valdeorras 9.8 km · 13 places
What to see in A Rúa 11 km · 6 places
What to see in Petín 12 km · 8 places
What to see in Puente de Domingo Flórez 13 km · 2 places
What to see in Oencia 14 km · 2 places
What to see in O Bolo 15 km · 9 places

Spain › Galicia › Ourense › Valdeorras › O Barco de Valdeorras

What to see and do in O Barco de Valdeorras

O Barco de Valdeorras
Village
O Barco de Valdeorras is the capital of the comarca of Valdeorras and the seat of its judicial district, with about 13,000 inhabitants on the banks of the Sil, in a narrow tectonic valley beneath the sierra del Eje. Its name may come from an old boat that once crossed the river beside the Roman road, today calle Real, where the original settlement arose; Valdeorras, for its part, refers to the valley inhabited by the Gigurri, and not, according to popular tradition, to a “golden” valley. It lives from the working and processing of slate, the comarca being Spain's leading producer, and from godello and mencía wine protected by the Valdeorras Designation of Origin. It preserves Roman and pre-Roman remains, several manorial pazos and the monastery of San Miguel de Xagoaza.
Monastery of San Miguel de Xagoaza
Monument
A monastic complex with a church of 12th-century Romanesque origin that belonged to the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, enlarged with an 18th-century building; it stands on a vineyard slope above the town and the Sil valley.
Tower of o Castro
Monument
The Torre do Castro stands on the site of O Castro, in the parish of the same name, in O Barco de Valdeorras, where the pazo de Flórez and the casa Carballo are also found. The place name Castro comes from the Latin castrum, 'fortress or fortified settlement', and today designates the remains of this medieval fortification perched on a 441-metre hill north of the town, from which the passage of the Vía Nova -the Roman road linking Braga with Astorga through the Sil valley- was watched over.
Winery of San Miguel de Xagoaza
Activity
In the restored 18th-century building of the former monastery a modern winery now works, making and showing the wines and spirits of the comarca and joining a visit to the historic complex with the culture of godello.
Malecón of the Sil
Activity
A riverside walk laid out along the bank of the Sil as it passes the comarca capital, the town's main leisure space and a natural viewpoint over the river and the mountains that close the valley.
Valdeorras Designation of Origin
Curiosity
Designation of Origin recognised by ministerial order on 27 July 1945 -the second oldest in Galicia after the Ribeiro- which protects the vineyards of eight municipalities in north-eastern Ourense: A Rúa, A Veiga, Carballeda de Valdeorras, Larouco, O Barco de Valdeorras, O Bolo, Petín and Vilamartín de Valdeorras, at an average altitude of 500 metres on slate soils. Its vineyards date back to Roman times, when the first vines were planted and wine presses built in a Mediterranean-oceanic microclimate. In 1977 the Consejo Regulador (Regulating Council) was created, which has governed the designation ever since, with the aim of recovering native varieties such as godello and mencía, today the main white and red grapes of the area.
Church of Santa María da Proba
Monument
Parish church of A Proba, one of the historic settlements that preceded the urban growth of O Barco; the concello spreads fourteen parishes between the floodplain of the Sil and the slopes of vineyard.
Festivities of o Santo Cristo do Barco
Activity
Patron saint festivities of the comarca capital, held around the image of the Santo Cristo; for several days they fill the Sil embankment with open-air dances, parades and popular events for the whole comarca.
Mencía of the Valdeorras D.O.
Food and drink
Red variety that shares the leading role with godello in the Valdeorras designation of origin; it is grown on the slate slopes above the Sil and yields light wines of red fruit and fine tannins.