Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Santiago de Compostela is the capital of Galicia in northwestern Spain, with about 98,000 residents. Each year more than 300,000 pilgrims walk the Camino de Santiago to reach the city's UNESCO-listed Old Town, which centres on the Cathedral of Santiago, built between 1075 and 1211 over the reputed tomb of the apostle Saint James the Greater, discovered in 814. The cathedral's 1738 Obradoiro façade is Spanish Baroque, while the 1495 University of Santiago ranks as the fourth-oldest in Spain. The 1499 Hostal dos Reis Católicos began as a pilgrim hospital and now operates as a parador, keeping centuries of arrivals within its walls.