Long queues to enter the cathedral and Portico tickets sold out for 2 weeks

[Bradypus]

A local TV station has reported that there are still long queues to enter the Cathedral despite the suspension of services while repair work is in progress. People still want to hug the Apostle! The text accompanying the video also notes that tickets to view the recently restored Portico da Gloria have already sold out for the next two weeks.

Peregrinos e turistas agardan longas colas na catedral de Santiago | CRTVG

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[Sho]

I waited in the line to hug Santiago for about 1.5 hours on Saturday.

 

[t2andreo]

For what it is worth, the FIRST 25 pilgrims in queue to be seen each morning, Monday - Saturday, are offered a FREE pass to visit the Portico de la Gloria. On Sunday, the free passes go to local residents.

This means you must be on the line outside the pilgrims office when they open at 08:00. Then you must proceed directly down to the waiting area room where the queue number dispensing kiosks are, then you must have number 0001 - 0025.

Sometimes people actually refuse this as they have inflexible plans. So on some days, the staff need to go higher than the first 25 pilgrims to give these free passes away.

These free tours are generally at 19:00.

 

[elleley]

Is that the queue at the Pilgrims Office you are referring to or at the Catedral?

 

[Bradypus]

Is that the queue at the Pilgrims Office you are referring to or at the Catedral?

The article is about queues to enter the Cathedral itself.

 

[peregrina2000]

A local TV station has reported that there are still long queues to enter the Cathedral despite the suspension of services while repair work is in progress. People still want to hug the Apostle! The text accompanying the video also notes that tickets to view the recently restored Portico da Gloria have already sold out for the next two weeks.

Peregrinos e turistas agardan longas colas na catedral de Santiago | CRTVG

Noticias galegas: toda a información de Galicia

www.crtvg.es

I am not sure whether the note about the tours of the Portico being sold out for two weeks means that they have opened up more tours and sold them out, but when I was there in July, the online reservations were full, but every day they opened up new tours for walk-ins, so it is worth checking. I’ve given other suggestions in this post as well.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/reopening-of-the-pórtico-de-gloria.59525/

 

[t2andreo]

Is that the queue at the Pilgrims Office you are referring to or at the Catedral?

At the Pilgrims Office...

 

[Anniesantiago]

I've always gotten there first thing in the morning, a few minutes before they open to get a good place in line to hug the Apostle AND at the Pilgrim Office.

 

[VNwalking]

At the Pilgrims Office...

The OP was about the cathedral:

A local TV station has reported that there are still long queues to enter the Cathedral

 

[Geodoc]

The OP was about the cathedral:

It was also about the lines for the Porto - T2Andreo pointed out a way to avoid that two week wait. We were fortunate to be among the first 10 (technically, 3-5) in line at the Pilgrim's Office the other day and got tickets to the Portico. Others turned down the tickets, so even a guy who was 37th in line at the Pilgrim's Office in the morning was able to get a ticket. Well worth it (but, we were in line at the Pilgrim's Office at 6:30 AM and by 7:00 AM their were already about 20 people in line - so, just a head's up). The tour is at 19:00 (7 PM) - no photos and you can't put your hand on the column (I so badly wanted to do that, but...)

Also, if you go to the Cathedral in the morning (fairly early), the wait to get in is not long - maybe 3-4 minutes to get past security, with about a 20-30 minute wait to see the statue and crypt (we went in sometime between 9:30 and 10:30 on Monday).

 

[Lucy Keenan]

A local TV station has reported that there are still long queues to enter the Cathedral despite the suspension of services while repair work is in progress. People still want to hug the Apostle! The text accompanying the video also notes that tickets to view the recently restored Portico da Gloria have already sold out for the next two weeks.

Peregrinos e turistas agardan longas colas na catedral de Santiago | CRTVG

Noticias galegas: toda a información de Galicia

www.crtvg.es

So there are no pilgrims masses being said, or any other mass ?

 

[ObeeOne]

So there are no pilgrims masses being said, or any other mass ?

When should things return to normal at the Cathedral? Has it been said?

 

[VNwalking]

So there are no pilgrims masses being said, or any other mass ?

From the Cathedral website:

Due to restoration works inside the Cathedral, masses are celebrated in other churches in the city:
-Iglesia de San Francisco: Daily Pilgrim’s Mass – 12:00 am noon
-Iglesia de San Fiz de Solovio: Daily Pilgrim’s Mass – 7:00 pm, with Pilgrim Prayer (from Monday to Saturday).
-Iglesia de Santa María Salomé:
From Monday to Friday: 7:30 am, 9:00 am, 10:00 am, 7:00 pm
Saturdays: 7:30 am, 9:00 am, 10:00 am, 6:00 pm, 7:00 pm
Sundays: 7:30 am, 9:00 am, 10:00 am, 1:00 pm, 6:00 pm, 7:00 pm
-Chapel of la Corticela: Every day – 11:00 am

If you need information, Lucy, it's all out there - have fun planning:

Inicio | Catedral de Santiago

catedraldesantiago.es

 

[t2andreo]

Perhaps ten days ago now, Don Segundo Lopez-Perez, the Dean of the Cathedral for all things Pilgrim related, and whose signature is on EVERY certificate issued at the Pilgrim Office, was interviewed and quoted in La Voz de Galicia - Santiago edition - that they were hoping to have the Cathedral reopen for Masses by “...early in 2020...”

That is what I read while I was there...

My own observation is that this projection might be optimistic. In reply, I would suggest that, to get the most “bang for the buck” they might slide the official, ceremonial reopening, with pomp, splendor, and attending dignitaries until the Feast of Santiago on 25 July 2020. I believe this will be a Saturday in 2020. For reference, the Holy Year is the NEXT YEAR, 2021.

IMHO, everyone ”wins” in this scenario. Remember, while the visible renovations are on the outside, every nook and cranny of the INSIDE must be dusted, cleaned, and / or restored. This is what occurred at the Portico de la Gloria.

Every cherub, angel, organ pipe, lighting fixture and altarpiece must be brought up to renovated status. To be sure, this work started as soon as the outer shell was completed and weatherproof. That is what has been going on behind all the scaffolding and plastic sheeting inside the Cathedral. This has been occurring for several years now.

Moreover, all the pews, confessional boxes and other wooden fixtures, chandeliers, the Botafumeiro, etc. that were removed are being restored off site.

There is a LOT going on. There are MANY THINGS that could cause what Don Segundo said in all sincerity to occur later.

That is why I am putting my money (figuratively) on a grand-reopening next 25 July.

If you plan to be in Santiago around then, BOOK A ROOM NOW!

Hope this helps...

 

[Former member 49149]

Perhaps ten days ago now, Don Segundo Lopez-Perez, the Dean of the Cathedral for all things Pilgrim related, and whose signature is on EVERY certificate issued at the Pilgrim Office, was interviewed and quoted in La Voz de Galicia - Santiago edition - that they were hoping to have the Cathedral reopen for Masses by “...early in 2020...”

That is what I read while I was there...

My own observation is that this projection might be optimistic. In reply, I would suggest that, to get the most “bang for the buck” they might slide the official, ceremonial reopening, with pomp, splendor, and attending dignitaries until the Feast of Santiago on 25 July 2020. I believe this will be a Saturday in 2020. For reference, the Holy Year is the NEXT YEAR, 2021.

IMHO, everyone ”wins” in this scenario. Remember, while the visible renovations are on the outside, every nook and cranny of the INSIDE must be dusted, cleaned, and / or restored. This is what occurred at the Portico de la Gloria.

Every cherub, angel, organ pipe, lighting fixture and altarpiece must be brought up to renovated status. To be sure, this work started as soon as the outer shell was completed and weatherproof. That is what has been going on behind all the scaffolding and plastic sheeting inside the Cathedral. This has been occurring for several years now.

Moreover, all the pews, confessional boxes and other wooden fixtures, chandeliers, the Botafumeiro, etc. that were removed are being restored off site.

There is a LOT going on. There are MANY THINGS that could cause what Don Segundo said in all sincerity to occur later.

That is why I am putting my money (figuratively) on a grand-reopening next 25 July.

If you plan to be in Santiago around then, BOOK A ROOM NOW!

Hope this helps...

I imagine you are all booked in, Sheriff? Hope your homeward trip was safe and uneventful.

 

[t2andreo]

Yup, “El Sherif” has TWO reservations. One, if I go alone, and a second if my wife makes good on her previous intention to accompany me... with the cat... I am prepared...

I made both reservations, in person, before I left Santiago last week. They will be confirmed, maintained, or canceled as needed over the coming months.

I heed my own advice...

 

[Lucy Keenan]

From the Cathedral website:


If you need information, Lucy, it's all out there - have fun planning:

Inicio | Catedral de Santiago

catedraldesantiago.es

Thanks. I should have done that first and not been so lazy!

 

[gerip]

A local TV station has reported that there are still long queues to enter the Cathedral despite the suspension of services while repair work is in progress. People still want to hug the Apostle! The text accompanying the video also notes that tickets to view the recently restored Portico da Gloria have already sold out for the next two weeks.

Peregrinos e turistas agardan longas colas na catedral de Santiago | CRTVG

Noticias galegas: toda a información de Galicia

www.crtvg.es

Must be an August thing. Last week in May, got a free ticket for the Portico and I’m pretty sure I wasn’t one of the first 25. No line for the cathedral either, just walked in & filed past the Apostle, clicked a few cheeky photos of the reliquary, no crowds (late afternoon).

 

[gerip]

Yup, “El Sherif” has TWO reservations. One, if I go alone, and a second if my wife makes good on her previous intention to accompany me... with the cat... I am prepared...

I made both reservations, in person, before I left Santiago last week. They will be confirmed, maintained, or canceled as needed over the coming months.

I heed my own advice...

The cat?

 

[t2andreo]

Yup, “she who must be obeyed” said she WAS coming next summer as a “tag along” not specifically to work. However, she also said the cat was coming too, if she came.

Said cat is a pedigreed Ragdoll kitten, one-year old on 3 September. We’ve owned cats for 40 years. Several have traveled internationally with us. So we know the drill.

Personally, there is only a 50/50 chance of this happening. Namely, because the cat is still growing AND putting on weight. From what I can tell, it is ALL lean muscle mass. But once she hits 7 kg, (16 pounds) in her carry-on carrier kennel, she is too big to travel in the cabin. That means she, and my wife, will be staying home again.

Because there is a real chance of going solo again, I made a second, solo accommodation reservation... I always have a Plan B.

Either way, I am prepared...

 

[Bob Chambers]

Hi all, just found out my Camino companion is no longer able to walk with me. I now have A spare ticket for the combined tour of the Portica da Gloria at 17:30 on October 13th. Let me know if anyone is interested.

 

[gerip]

Yup, “she who must be obeyed” said she WAS coming next summer as a “tag along” not specifically to work. However, she also said the cat was coming too, if she came.

Said cat is a pedigreed Ragdoll kitten, one-year old on 3 September. We’ve owned cats for 40 years. Several have traveled internationally with us. So we know the drill.

Personally, there is only a 50/50 chance of this happening. Namely, because the cat is still growing AND putting on weight. From what I can tell, it is ALL lean muscle mass. But once she hits 7 kg, (16 pounds) in her carry-on carrier kennel, she is too big to travel in the cabin. That means she, and my wife, will be staying home again.

Because there is a real chance of going solo again, I made a second, solo accommodation reservation... I always have a Plan B.

Either way, I am prepared...