I visited Spain’s ‘happiest city’ – here’s why you should too ...Middle East

In Spain’s green north, there’s a place free of crowds and anti-tourism sentiment. This port city in Pontevedra, a province of Galicia, may not be at the top of UK travellers’ holiday roll call – but it deserves more attention.

Vigo is Spain’s highest-ranking city in the latest Happy City Index, compiled by the Institute for Quality of Life.

The index looks at five different “indicators” – citizens (focusing on factors such as education, affordability of housing and access to culture), governance (including the involvement of residents in decision–making processes and online accessibility to public services), environment (green areas and anti-pollution efforts), economy, mobility and health.

I live on the Cote d’Azur. This is why you should visit in winter, not summer

It is an appealing destination for Britons who don’t like it too hot. Last year, a Spanish estate agent told The Times that the British represented five per cent of buyers in the area. That said, moving to Spain is trickier since the end of the Brexit transition period, and will become more so when the country’s golden visa scheme is scrapped.

But it’s still easy to get a taste of the city’s charms on holiday.

When I visited in the summer months, I found Vigo to be affordable, friendly and well-situated for travel around Galicia – and beyond. There are direct flights from the UK (flying from Stansted with Ryanair) and direct trains to other Galician cities – including the regional capital and the end of the St James Way pilgrim route, Santiago de Compostela. Vigo is also around 40 minutes by car to the border with Portugal, and around 90 minutes to Porto.

Galicia may be the rainiest part of Spain, but it also avoids the extreme heat seen in some parts of the country. In Vigo, August brings average highs of 27°C, while in January, the coldest month, there are average lows of 7°C (in London, for comparison, the average low temperature is 3°C this month).

Felix Gonzalez, a resident of Vigo, offered a local perspective on what helps to make it a happy place to live.

“We are surrounded by nature where we can disconnect, with a mild climate and very reasonable prices in restaurants that allow us to enjoy going out to dinner or having a drink with friends frequently,” he said.

“Vigo’s limits are the sea and the mountains. There are excellent beaches, islands that are national parks, mountain trails and even a trail along an old railway line.”

Home to around 300,000 people, Vigo’s existence relies on the sea. It’s the biggest port on Spain’s Atlantic coast. As such, the city is known for its seafood, which features on the menus of many of its 21 Michelin-listed restaurants. Among them is Casa Marco, an unassuming place on Avenida García Barbó. Here, dishes might include grilled scallops with lemon oil and steamed cod with ajada (a garlic and paprika sauce that’s traditionally used in Galician recipes). 

Food markets are another culinary highlight of Galicia – including in Vigo. Head to the Berbés neighbourhood for stalls loaded with delicacies.

The hilly old town also has plenty of tapas restaurants in which to try the region’s specialties. Between food stops, look out for street names that reveal the industries on which Vigo was built, such as Rúa das Ostras (Oyster Street) and Rúa dos Cesteiros (basket-weaving street).  

As you wander, watch, and listen, out for markers of Galicia’s Celtic heritage, a feature that makes the autonomous region distinct from the rest of Spain. Celts began migrating to this north-western slice of the country around the first century BC. The triskele, an ancient symbol made up of three spirals – sometimes shown as connected legs, much like those on the flag of the Isle of Man – decorates bars. Bagpipes are played at celebrations, and Galicians have their own language, which is similar to Portuguese – it’s an official language alongside Spanish.  

Tourists lured to Galicia by its striking coastal scenery may favour cities such as A Coruña where coastal walks stretch along cliffs and reveal distant headlands dotted with lighthouses. But what the city of Vigo lacks in coastal drama it makes up for with its surrounds.

Vigo is on an estuary, with which it shares a name. The estuary has several islands, including the Cies Islands archipelago. Two of these three islands can be reached on 45-minute ferry from Vigo (between April and September). You can also camp on Faro island – which is linked by a footbridge to Monte Agudo island.

The islands are a protected nature reserve and both daily visitor numbers, and the number of campers, are capped.

On a balmy few days in June, Rodas Beach – a curve of white sand lapped by clear water – was filled with families soon after the ferry arrived. Rodas is just a few steps away from where ferries dock, but there are beaches across the two islands. Figueiras (a nudist beach) is around 15 minutes’ walk from ferry. You descend down wooden steps to a generous sweep of sand where territorial seagulls stand guard as the evening draws in.

Last year, 12 of Vigo’s beaches– including Rodas on the Cies Islands – were awarded a Blue Flag. Among the options on the mainland is Argazada Beach, around 15 minutes’ drive west from the old town, Canido (around 20 minutes by car from the old town) and Areíño beach (to the east of the old town).

For a weekend break, Vigo is great value. Four-star hotel rooms start from around £50 per night in winter and around £100 in the peak weeks of summer.

Of course, it doesn’t necessarily follow that the city is an affordable place to live. “Housing has not escaped the general rise in prices throughout Spain, and, although it is still much cheaper than in the big regional capitals like Madrid or Barcelona, ​​current prices are too high,” says Felix.

Despite this, there is a sense of unity and pride in being from Vigo: “There are great events and companies with international projection that make us feel proud.”

He mentions the Conxemar fair (a seafood exibition) the Reconquista festival (an annual event in March to commemorate the expulsion of Napoleon’s army from the city in 1809) and the free concerts in Castrelos Park (a green space dating to the 13th century).

Idyllic beaches, fresh, regional cuisine and a laid-back attitude made my visit to Vigo a happy one. There are plenty of reasons to return, not least to lounge on every one of those white-sand beaches.

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