A Coruña and the Tower of Hercules

Back in 415, the Latin poet Prudentius already alluded to an ancient lighthouse on the Galician coast: today’s Tower of Hercules, rebuilt under Trajan in the 1st–2nd centuries, still lights the way into A Coruña. The Marina’s glass-fronted galleries, designed to trap Atlantic light, earned the city its “glass town” moniker. From there, a seafront ribbon runs roughly 3 km to Riazor and Orzán, while the Monte de San Pedro preserves coastal batteries that once guarded the harbor between the 18th and 20th centuries.

Then it’s about smooth logistics: hotel pickup in Santiago and a direct 74 km, 1-hour drive to A Coruña in a Mercedes, at your disposal all day. Your driver times the lighthouse to quieter slots and handles parking while you tour, take photos, and try pulpo a la Gallega near Plaza de Lugo. With a private chauffeur in Santiago de Compostela, the plan stays flexible: pause on the Marina jetty, sip coffee at Jardín de San Carlos, and swing back via Betanzos (24 km) to wander its Gothic old town and the Plaza do Azougue.