Location: County Vigo, Galicia Map
Bayona (officially, in Galician, Baiona) is a municipality
integrated into the Metropolitan Area of Vigo and belongs to the
province of Pontevedra, in Galicia. It limits to the north with the
Atlantic Ocean and the municipality of Nigrán, to the south with
that of Oya, to the east with those of Gondomar and Tomiño and to
the west with the Atlantic Ocean and the municipality of Oya. It
belongs to the Valle Miñor region (Val Miñor in Gallego).
It
is home to Monterreal Castle, which currently serves as a National
Parador. It has great historical importance, since on March 1, 1493,
Martín Alonso Pinzón arrived on the shores of Bayonne after his trip
to America, making this town the first in Europe to hear the news of
the discovery of the New World. For this reason, on the first
weekend of March, a medieval festival called La Arribada is
celebrated in the historic center of Bayonne.
Between 1519
and 1522, Diego Carmena Gallego and Vasco Gómez Gallego, born in
Bayonne, were part of the survivors of the Magellan-Elcano
Expedition, thus being the first to carry out the Circumnavigation
of the Earth.
On March 1, 1977, this town was twinned with
the city of Palos de la Frontera (cradle of the Discovery of
America), the place from which the discovering caravels left on
August 3, 1492. In memory of the Upon arrival of the caravel La
Pinta, the Royal Society Palósfila Pinzoniana donated the statue of
Martín Alonso Pinzón, a version by the sculptor León Ortega of the
one that stands in the Town Hall Plaza of Palos, as a testimony of
brotherhood between both cities.
The first historical
references to the town are from the beginning of the 13th century,
although there is earlier news of the disappeared monastery of San
Cosme de Bahiña. Castro and Roman remains are scarce throughout the
municipality, with an extensive area of petroglyphs in Baíña and a
Roman road that runs through Groba towards Vigo. The Collegiate
Church of Bayonne (today ex-Collegiate Church), a Romanesque temple
transitioning to Gothic, was built in the second half of the 13th
century. The monument of the Holy Trinity, a monumental cross
covered with a baldachin, is from the 14th century. The image of the
Virgin of the Rock, 15 meters high, which stands on Mount Samsón,
was inaugurated on September 14, 1930 by Bishop Antonio García y
García after two decades of work.
Supposedly, Saint Librada,
also known as Saint Liberata, was martyred in the royal town of
Bayonne.
The origin of the place name Bayona has historically
been the result of innumerable controversies: recent studies seem to
relate its origin to the nearby Baíña River. Its first element "bay"
(in Galician "bai") would derive from the pre-Indo-European Basque
"ibai" which means meadow or river. The second element "onna" comes
from Celtic and means source or river, or it is a pre-Roman
augmentative suffix. Thus, the place name of Bayona would be a
hybrid and tautological voice with possible combinations of the
terms river, plain or source.
Carabela La Pinta, Elduayen Street. There is a replica of the
caravel La Pinta with the same size as the real one, which has a
small museum inside. Price: ~€1.
Monterreal Castle (Conde de
Gondomar Castle), Jesús Valverde Avenue. It is located on a
peninsula called Mount Boi. Today it is an expensive hotel in the
Paradores chain of Spain. Price: €1 per person.
Ex-collegiate
Church (Ex-colexiata Santa María de Baiona), Plaza Santa Liberata.
The largest church in Bayonne built in the 13th century.
Mount
Boi Peninsula. A nice walk around the castle walls.
Virgin of the
Rock (Virxe da Rocha), Virxe da Rocha Highway. A 15 meter high
monument made by Antonio Palacios. A nice viewpoint to see the town,
the bay, the Estelas Islands, the Cíes Islands and get lost in the
infinite horizon of the Atlantic Ocean.
Beaches
There are
six beaches in Bayonne:
To Barberia. It is within the facilities
of Castillo Monterreal. Price: Free access.
To Concheira. At the
beginning of the Monte Boi walk. It is a beach with pieces of shells
instead of sand.
To Ladeira. At the entrance to the town coming
from Vigo, it is the largest beach.
Os Frades. In the middle of
the Monte Boi promenade, it is the smallest beach. Como A Concheira
is a shell beach.
To Riberia. At the entrance to Monterreal
Castle.
Santa Marta. At the beginning of another small peninsula
with a small chapel.
Walk. Take a walk around the Monte Boi peninsula.
Festival of the
Arribada (Festa da Arribada). Every year the arrival of the caravel
La Pinta will be commemorated with a medieval festival. Many people
come to town and spend all day drinking and eating in the streets.
It is celebrated on a weekend close to March 1.
Beaches. In the
summer season enjoy any of the beaches.
By plane
The closest airport is Vigo (30km). Other options are
Santiago de Compostela (129km) or Porto in Portugal (160km).
By
train
The closest train station is in Vigo. From there you will need
a bus to get to Bayonne.
By bus
There are buses every 30
minutes from Vigo on weekdays. On Saturdays and Sundays there are buses
every hour. The company that provides the service is called ATSA and the
buses are blue.
By car
The AP-57 highway ends in Bayonne. It
is connected to the AP-9 from La Coruña and the A-52 from Orense.
You can walk along the promenade which will take you less than an
hour from Paseo Pinzón (in the west) to Ladeira beach (in the east).
You can also enjoy a walk through the historic center of the town,
where you can taste the rich Galician cuisine, and especially that of
the Ría de Vigo, where its varied and delicious fish and seafood stand
out.
There is a taxi rank at the port (5 minutes walk from the
town hall).
Clothing, Elduayen Street. There are many shops open on Sundays and holidays with tourists in mind. They tend to be quite expensive.
O Candil, Calle San Juan. Fish, Meat, Seafood & etc. Price: €15-25.
Or Refuxio D'Antón, Calle Ventura Misa. Tapas. Price: €5-10.
Or
Mosquito, Elduayen Street. ☎ 986355036. Rice with lobster. Price:
€15-20.
Rocamar, Baredo. ☎ 986357323. Seafood. 2km from the center.
Price: €30-50.
Coffee shops. There are many cafes, especially on Elduayen Street
where you can enjoy the terraces.
Evening. The town center is full of
pubs that are open until 3am. There are two larger clubs that close
later: Villa Rosa (located in an old building from the early 20th
century) and Basic.
O Escondidiño, Río da Veiga Street. ☎ 986358205. Hostel 5 minutes
from the center. Price: €35.
Parador de Bayona, Avenida Jesús
Valverde. ☎ 986355000. The best hotel in town in Monterreal Castle
Price: €100-200.
Camping Bayona Playa, Ladeira Beach. ☎ 986350035.
Wooden bungalows on Ladeira beach. Price: €30-50.
Casa Rural San
Lourenzo, Camiño da Bouza Levada, 26. A Granxa, Belesar. ☎ 986354599. It
is located in the Serra da Groba. Price: €50-70.
Internet. There is no free Wi-Fi in Bayonne, but there are several bars and cafes that have free Internet for their customers.
Cíes Islands (Illas Cíes). During the summer season there are boats
to the Cíes Islands, a natural paradise with beautiful beaches. Price:
~€15.
Santa Tecla (A Guarda). 20 km south of Bayona you can reach A
Guarda through a beautiful road along the coast. There you can climb the
mountain called Santa Tecla where you can find a Celtic fort. From the
top of the mountain you can see the wide estuary that the Miño River
forms when its waters meet the rough waters of the Atlantic Spain and
Portugal.
The municipal heraldic shield was approved by Decree 65/2005 of March
31 and published in the Official Gazette of Galicia on April 15, 2005.
Its description is as follows:
Quartered. First and fourth gules
(red) a golden ox (yellow). Second and third, azure (blue), a gold
caravel on waves of silver (white) and azure. At the buzzer, royal crown
closed.
However, the city council uses a version that does not
coincide with the approved coat of arms in which oxen and ships face the
center of the shield and the ships have white sails with a red cross.
Regarding its symbology, the ox refers to Monte Boi - a fortress
that served to defend the town from the estuary -, while the caravel
represents the relationship of the town with the sea, since La Pinta
arrived in Bayonne, captained by Martín Alonso Pinzón, after the
discovery of America and from the same place, Philip II's army left to
fight the English. The oldest known shields are those located in the
chapel of Santa Liberata, built in 1695, and in one of the doors of the
yearbook-archive, built in 1769.
The municipal flag is made up of four triangles, blue for the top and bottom and red for the right and left. Its existence has been proven since 1591, thanks to a letter from Philip II to the Marquis of Cerralbo. Its use declined in the mid-19th century but since 1981 it has been flying in the Town Hall after an agreement by the municipal corporation.