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Wise Pilgrim APPMonforte offers attractions to lovers of history, art, and architecture. Top of the list is the Colegio Nuestra Señora de la Antigua (also known locally as the Colegio de los Escolapios), an austere renaissance monastery, which currently houses a K-12 school. Tours of the rest of the monastery are 3€, at noon and 4 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. Two El Grecos dominate the little art gallery; the dome of the church is breathtaking, a startling change after days of wide-open sky.
The railway museum is reported to be fascinating for English train enthusiasts and the public alike. http://www.muferga.es/ .
Tourist office is closed on Monday.
Monforte has a sports hall that may be available for pilgrim stays, but offers nothing but floor space and showers. Tel. 982 402 501. If you stay here, let us know!
There is no shortage of places to stay in Monforte de Lemos.
Hostal Duquesa; Duquesa de Alba, 50. 800 m from old town. Tel. 982 403 467. Recommended in summer 2015, on a street of nightclubs, but reported quiet. Room with bath 17 €, and owner did wash for free, prompting a donation.
Hotel Condes de Lemos; Praza da Estación, 2. Tel. 982 400 319 (reported good, but a ways out of the center and not directly on the Camino anymore).
Hostal Rúa; Roberto Baamonde, 30.
Hotel El Castillo; Huertas, 36. Tel. 982 402 150
Hotel Parrillada Nunez; Barrio Las Lamas, s/n (s/n is an indication in Spanish, sin número, which tells you that the site has no street number; it usually means that the place is not centrally located)
Hotel Terra Gallega; Chantada, 218. Tel. 982 405 090
Several pilgrims report having a very good meal at Al Portal. Another remembered an excellent meal in O Grelo, which is located up on the hill near the parador (not cheap, but reported as serving great food). Also recommended is Restaurante Polar in the center. Restaurante Cardenal on the main pedestrian street highly recommended. Café Chokolat on Rúa do Comercio open early and good breakfast.
A laundromat recently opened in Monfort de Lemos. Laundromats are rare in Spain, so this may be a good opportunity for you. Located on Rúa Chantada (the road going over the Puente Romano), just before the Lidl and Gadis supermarkets. It is opposite the Mapfre insurance offices at the traffic lights.
If your next stage is the 29 km to Chantada, make sure to save time to stock up on food and drink here in Monforte. It’s a long stage with little in the way of services.
Between these two towns, the only accommodation is in casas rurales. They include: the Michelin-listed La Rectoral de Castillon http://www.rectoraldecastillon.com/ Tel. 982 455 415, which is about 10 km from Monforte; Torre Vilarino http://www.torrevilarino.com/ , Tel. 982 45 22 60, which is another 4 km beyond that; and Penelope’s place in Castrotañe. Be sure to phone ahead and reserve if you plan to stay at any of these places. The owners of La Rectoral have been happy to pick up pilgrims from points on the Camino. These casas rurales provide a good and less taxing first-day option if your pilgrimage begins at Monforte.
Leaving Monforte, cross the Roman bridge, and make a quick left at the monastery of the Clarisas. Go right at the old town hall plaza – you will see a shell on the pavement. Follow Rúa Abeledos right out to the edge of town, passing by an unmarked but friendly bread bakery on the left. Where two roads come into Abeledos from the left (Rúa O Savinao and Poeta Manuel María), take the latter road. Walk between the church of San Antonio and the backside of the Gadis supermarket, and come to the roundabout with a hórreo (a Galician granary). Take a left to reach another roundabout, with a statue of a pilgrim pointing towards A Vide. Pass the 24 hour Repsol gas station on the right. This next stretch is one of the few on asphalt with no soft shoulder.
