A place that I hope to visit sometime is Santiago de Compostela.....If I gave it two days would that be enough to see it all.And it also has a nickname which is something like "urinal of Europe".This is because it gets so much rain...Can the weather be really dreadful?

Two days is very sufficient - not all that much in the town, though pleasant, itself.

"urinal of Europe" never heard that but northern Spain can be very rainy - that's why it's called the green coast or something like that. Waz there on October and the weather was fine.

Now if you believe that bit about Santiago's body mysteriously washing up on shore near here...that's another story

Hi Carioca,

I have been twice to Santiago , each time staying 4 days. Having said that, I think 2 days is enough to see what the town in itself has but I enjoyed tremendously the extra time . It's my favorite city in Spain. I also did some day trips from Santiago to the Rias and to Coruña.

Both times I went there in the summer. On both ocassions we had rain one day, the other days we had beautiful weather. I never heard the "urinal" nickname.

This came up on the Net:

"Along the way Santiago acquired the appelation 'Compostela' - field of stars (from the Latin campus stellae) - as the original discovery of the saint's bones came about (so it is said, and who are we to doubt it???) when a hermit was attracted to a certain hillside by a vision of stars. It may destroy the image slightly to note that the area is famous for its high rainfall and its present-day nick-name, El Orinal de Espana, translates as it sounds - 'The Urinal of Spain'! In all fairness, the not-easily over-impressed authors of the Rough guide to Spain consider Santiago to be 'one of the most beautiful of all Spainish cities', not least because the rain ensures a lushness of vegetation lacking elsewhere in Galicia. And it means that the churches are fitted with multitudes of frequently-functioning gargoyles."

Harzer

Galicia (Santiago is Capital of that Autonomous Community) gets a lot of rain; but it depends on the time of year. I have visited Santiago five or six times, mostly in Summer but once in February and another time in late May. The last time, I flew there from Madrid in July - stayed a couple of days on the coast and came back to Santiago for the weekend (Pilgrims' Mass, Botafumeiro, etc.). It may have rained but I didn't pay any attention to it.

If you're coming there from the UK, you should expect some rain, just as if you were visiting Ireland. But don't let the rain spoil your visit.

The 'urinal of Europe' characterization is bad, considering that each year tens of thousands or Pilgrims make their way to this sacred Christian Shrine.

As for 2-days: try to make them a weekend (i.e., Saturday & Sunday)

carioca$ED- Where did you get the idea of Santiago being 'the urinal of Europe' - did you make it up or read it somewhere - it seems it has absolutely no credible truth.

I remember where I read it.It was called "the urinal of Spain"..This was in an official brochure from the City .....I got the brochure at the "Gathering of The Celtic Nations "in Lorient,Brittany....

For a bit of perspective I looked up average rainfall for a few places:
Santiago de Compostela 114cm/45in
Dublin 74cm/29in
London 59cm/23in
English Lakes District 330cm/130in

You might be interested in the Galician portion of my trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34875899

Two full days should be enough, three days more relaxing.