If you had to take an unplanned stop and/or be delayed somewhere then staying in A Coruna is certainly no hardship. We fell in love with this gorgeous town and the friendly locals. August brought the city alive with a week long festival and we made the most of the opportunities that this offered. From a medieval festival in the large city square, to international dancing troupes, choirs and bands – all just a short walk from the marina. The best advice we could give is to grab a tourist map from the marina office or information booths in the city, fill your back pack with water and snacks and go for a walk. The map highlights a walking track that will guide you to all the major tourist spots.
Sightseeing
The town of A Coruna is famous for its glass windows, and it is easy to see why. As we walked from the marina along the promenade we were delighted by the myriad of city buildings filled with glass windows. The sea side of the promenade included harbour facilities for cargo, cruise ships and tankers. There is also a smaller marina here, as well as fishing and tourist boats. Short boat tours of the coastline are available for €7.00 and leave hourly from about midday till sunset in peak season.
One of our first stops was Plaza Maria Pita with its spectacular City Hall on one side and restaurants and shops lining the other three sides of the square. There is an Information Centre here, and we sought advice about locations where we could access wifi/internet. Their recommendation was Café Vecchio on Avenda De La Marina opposite the main post office. After exploring the square, take one of the laneways which wind their way further into the city itself. Most are lined with shops, market stalls, cafes and small bars – lots of options for food, drink, local produce and souvenirs here.
A visit to the Ciudad Vieja ‘old town’ is a must, easily located behind the hospital or behind Plaza Maria Pita the area is a stone’s throw away from the marina. Wind your way through narrow streets and lanes to Sir John Moore’s grave, and the centuries old churches of Santo Domingo, Santa Maria and Santiago. Be aware that most churches here discourage or forbid tourist entry.
Overlooking Marina Coruna is Castelo de Santo Anton, if you sail into A Coruna you can’t miss it. A 16th century fort like structure that houses archaeological and historical artifacts, and is well worth a visit. The castle is very busy on weekends so if you can avoid Saturdays and Sundays you will have better opportunities to view the artifacts and take photos.
If you are feeling energetic then exit the marina from the motor home park (sea side) and follow Paseo Alcalde Francisco Vazquez. Passing the university on the right continue walking uphill while you hug the coastline. You will be rewarded with great view over the bay, and back towards Marina Coruna, the port area and the city of A Coruna itself. The pedestrian walkway is dotted with tall orange steel structures which are embedded with enamel plaques depicting sea creatures. The walk will eventually lead you to Torre de Hercules Y Parque Escultorico (The Tower of Hercules and Sculpture Park). Built by the Romans in the first century, the tower is the world’s oldest working lighthouse. The Tower is surrounded by a large grassed area with a series of sculptures in place. Top Tip – book your entry tickets for the Tower before you head off, entry to the Tower is timed. We didn’t do our homework and when we arrived (about 11.00am) the area was packed, and the queue for tickets was huge. While waiting in line a tourist guide came along to report that the next available tickets were for 3.00pm that afternoon or tickets could be purchased for the next day. And I’m sure the groans could be heard from the top of the tower. Alternatively book in for an organised tour. We noted the numerous tourist buses arriving and as is the usual case these passengers were given priority entry. Please note that the ticket office is located in a car park at the base of the Tower walkway, tickets cannot be purchased at the Tower itself.
We decided not to wait and continued our walk along the recommended tourist circuit route passing the Tower, Aquarium Finisterrae, the old jail and Museo Domus (Museum of Mankind) before arriving at the main beach. This is obviously a popular tourist area with lots of high rise apartments, restaurants, cafes, and fast food outlets facing the beach. Whilst the Obbelisco Millenium could be easily seen from the sea promenade and the tourist circuit will guide you there. We decided to call it a day and headed back to the marina.
A Coruna has a host of interesting and diverse places to go and things to see, we hope this brief overview has given you a feel for the city sights. Oh, if you are berthed in Marina Coruna don’t forget to take a stroll along the walking/running/cycling path which runs alongside the marina (on the sea side) to the channel marker at the end for a great view over the bay and to the city itself.
General Information
Wifi: The Orange data plan we purchased in Les Sables-d’Olonne was very limited and limiting, i.e. limited to France (ugh!) and limited to one device connection. Wifi at the marina was both patchy and slow, so initially we made daily trips to Cafe Vecchio for coffees and pastries as well as accessing free wifi. Then we found a less fattening solution by buying a 25GB sim data card from Vodafone, which works anywhere in Europe, at a cost of €20. Vodafone staff were cheerful and helpful and wifi hot spotting worked. Brilliant!
PS A few days before heading off, we found out about better wifi reception at Naval Nautale, a bar and restaurant in the building next door to Marina Coruna (on the first floor). Coffee is cheaper than Café Vecchio and the accompanying slice of cake is free. Even the marina dock staff use this place. A great find.
Transport options: All the usual modes of transport to get around town are available: bus, taxi, car hire, Uber and Bolt. For the most part we walked everywhere, we did use the public bus (€1.20 per person/per trip) to do the provisioning shop and got a taxi back to the marina (€12 – 15). Buses are located a short walk from the marina. We checked out with Kieran (marina staff member) which bus to catch. Honestly, he is a walking encyclopaedia about all things A Coruna, so much so we reckon the tourist board should hire him. Once we got on the bus we showed the bus driver where we wanted to go via mobile phone, and he confirmed we were on the right bus. We then tracked our progress on Google Maps, though the bus drivers were super helpful, turning around and telling us when it was our stop.
Shopping: A Coruna abounds with all sorts of shops and markets, here is just a glimpse of what is on offer. Gadis is the closest supermarket to the marina and is located in Plaza de San Augustin (city centre). We used this for day to day shopping. A larger Gadis supermarket is located at Centro Plaza, a good walk away from the marina, our advice if you want to is to take the bus or taxi at least for the return trip.
For provisioning we caught a bus to Lidl, a large supermarket on the outskirts of town. (We didn’t mind the bus trip as we saw more of the city). Recommended by Kieran, the supermarket offered everything we wanted at much cheaper prices than Gadis so it was well worth the trip and extra time. We loaded up a taxi with our goodies and headed back to the marina, taxi fare €12. Arriving back at Marina Coruna we borrowed a shopping trolley from the marina office to get our purchases back to the boat (€10 deposit, fully refunded on return).
Would you believe we also had an IKEA fix while we were in A Coruna! We got the bus details and directions from Kieran and off we went. As we chatted about things we saw along the way, we realised everyone had stopped talking around us and were listening to our conversation, obviously not expecting to here English-Australian to be spoken on the bus. A fellow passenger struck up a conversation with us, keen to try out his English language skills which were excellent by the way. IKEA is part of a large shopping complex, and the bus terminates here. So, no worries about missing our stop. It was just like being at home, everything was laid out in exactly the same way. The only difference being the prices were in euros and the signs were in Spanish. Of course we had to check out the restaurant, Swedish meatballs for Peter and fish and vegetables for Sandra. We picked up some additional storage containers for the galley and items for the cabins. It felt great to do something normal, something we were familiar with.
There are a number of markets scattered throughout the city, in particular in the lane ways around Plaza Maria Pita. If you walk past the tourist boats and post office, keep going down this side of the road (you will pass a children’s playground), until you come to a series of permanent white booths. While we were in town these were used in the evening and on the weekend to sell various products. One time it was books – all sorts of books, another time jewellery, then handmade goods. Might be worth a look if you are in town.
Restaurants: There is a restaurant and separate bar as part of the marina complex. The restaurant is on the first floor of the marina building and offers an a la carte menu. In our view prices were expensive so we chose not to eat here, as such we can’t comment on the quality of the food or the service. A bar is located on the ground floor of the building offering a limited range of food, coffee, alcoholic and /non alcoholic drinks at more affordable prices. We enjoyed an afternoon here drinking wine and eating nibbles.
As a nearby restaurant alternative check out Naval Nauticale, right next door to Marina Coruna which has a bar and restaurant on the first floor offering a selected range of meals. Meal prices for a two course meal range from €9.00 early in the week to €12.50 later in the week and on weekends, an absolute bargain.
Paul our newest crew member introduced us to a restaurant located within the University. The university is located behind Marina Coruna. Exit the marina via the mobile home park at the boom gate, cross the road and make your way up the stairs to the university grounds. Enter the building on the far right (nearest the sea) a blackboard with the day’s lunch menu will be situated in the entryway. If you do not speak Spanish it is worth stopping here and working out what you want from the menu via Google Translator as restaurant staff speak limited English. A three course meal will cost €12.50 per person. Alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks are available for purchase. The meal was not fancy, but very nice and cooked perfectly. The bonus is the spectacular views over the bay and beyond from the restaurant windows.
Further afield, the town centre is awash with food options including but not limited to take away outlets, cafes, bars, restaurants and scrumptious bakeries. One of our favourite cafes was El Café de Macondo, gorgeous décor with a range of local artwork on view, relaxed ambience and great coffee. This is also a games club, so if you are into dominos or chess the first floor of the café is the place to go. In fact, people were playing at tables in the main café at all times during the day and into the evening.
Post Office, Banks and ATM’s: are all in the city centre. Like France, most retailers did not take American Express, however Visa and MasterCard were okay.
Chandleries: The closest to the marina is about six kilometres away, so a solid walk. The 1A bus (pick up near the marina) passes by or alternatively take a cab/Uber. The store is packed from floor to ceiling with ‘stuff’. Anything marine or boats that you are looking for, we reckon you could find it here. We were looking for a particular Starbright product and the sales assistant directed Peter to where she thought he might find it, ‘Just move things around if you have to, I know we have it in stock’. He dug around and she was right, he did find it behind a myriad of other cleaning products. She was just delightful, and we spent sometime chatting about where we were staying, our trip thus far and our forward journey.
Marine Services: Staff can arrange Yanmar engine servicing which we took advantage of as the first 50 hour service was due. Major marine maintenance or repair work is carried out at Marina Seca about a one hour sail from Marina Coruna.
If you get the chance spend some time in A Coruna, you won’t be disappointed.
Click here for our review of Marina Coruna http://seagoddessadventures.com/france-to-australia-marina-coruna/