Away with mobiles! Out with tablets! Let’s take advantage of our free time to enjoy nature, archaeology, history, parks, farms… Here are some ideas for unforgettable family outings:
Dramatized visits
It is a widely used resource to liven up visits to castles. For example, in the Vimianzo castle, Os Quinquilláns put on performances that have to do with the history of the fortress on Sundays at 12:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., between July 9 and September 10. In addition, there is a live craft show and workshops.
In the Soutomaior castle, in July and August there are performances by the Troula Animación group aimed at family audiences, in sessions at 11:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. In summer, the theme is “Origen Rías Baixas”, with characters such as the witch, the moura, the bard and the trasno, who interact with the public. In autumn and winter they change the theme (samain, Christmas).
The castle of San Felipe, in Ferrol, can be visited freely, between 10:00 and 14:00 and 16:00 and 20:00, or with a guide, with prior reservation. In addition, on Saturdays, August 12 and 19, it offers dramatized visits that are very successful.
Archaeological sites
The site of Santa Trega, in A Guarda, is the most important example of castro culture in the northwest of the peninsula. The visit combines interest in our past with great views from the mountain over the mouth of the Miño, Portugal, the Atlantic and O Val do Rosal. The tour ends at the Archaeological Museum of Santa Trega (MASAT). In July and August there are guided tours from Tuesday to Sunday in 4 shifts.
The Roman site of Lobios reveals one of the mansios, a kind of luxury service area of the Vía Nova, the Roman “highway” that connected Bracara Augusta (Braga) and Asturica Augusta (Astorga): Aquis Ogeresibus, to which they added the subtitle of “Sacred waters of the two gods and goddesses of Xurés-Gerês”. And all this, in the middle of the Baixa Limia-Serra do Xurés Natural Park.
The visit to the Campo Lameiro Rock Art Archaeological Park is a continuous game, finding petroglyphs on the mountain and trying to give them meaning. In the interpretation center they tell us everything in detail. It offers a variety of activities for schools and families throughout the year.
In the Palloza-Casa do Sesto museum, in the municipality of Cervantes, we have the opportunity to appreciate how people lived in the high mountains from the 18th to the 20th centuries, practically. A little house and a fairytale landscape.
Museums
Get on a Boeing 747, and even take the controls? That can only be done at the MUNCYT in A Coruña, a stimulating museum full of experiments, old and modern devices and a varied repertoire of activities.
Muferga (the railway museum) is in Monforte, the cradle of Galician locomotives. Here we can review the history of trains in an exhibition of old locomotives. In addition, there is an outdoor circuit with a very fun children’s train.
Also in the Ribeira Sacra is the Chocolate Factory House-Museum, in Teimude, with all the machinery used in the traditional process of making chocolate. Only the oompa loompas are missing!
Aquariums
The A Coruña aquarium is in the Aquarium Finisterrae, one of the Coruña scientific museums. Here are more than 300 species of aquatic animals. We sure had a great time in the Nautilus Room, set as Captain Nemo’s cabinet and, among other fish, surrounded by… sharks!
In the Museum of the Sea in Vigo there is an aquarium with specimens that perfectly illustrate the marine ecosystem of the area, with species typical of the coast, the estuary, the Cíes Islands (sardines, gilthead bream, rays…).
In A Punta Moreiras, there is O Grove Aquarium, with 27 spaces dedicated to more than 200 underwater species. It contemplates many activities for children. Even exclusive immersive activities, to immerse yourself diving among the sharks!
Macroparks
Eirís Park, in A Coruña, has very modern children’s areas, such as the climbing area, the giant slide, the zip line, the skate area… There are also areas for a quiet walk on the shore of the pond.
In the Allariz Ecopark, the Ecoespazo O Rexo, nature, art (with the interventions of Ibarrola, the painter of trees), a mini-electric, sheep and cheese dairy coexist. To breathe and be inspired.
The Park of the Senses, in Marín, has an area of almost 24,000 m2, where you can enjoy, between fields and trees, swings, winding slides, sculptures, carved trunks, granaries, musical instruments to play a little…
On the island of A Toxa, in the middle of the mountain, it seems that some thermal beings live in some houses at certain times of the year. These are the grobbits of the O Salnés region. Here they live, in this Grobbit Village, which is very reminiscent of Hobbiton, in the other Shire…
Galicia is never just discovered. In San Clodio, in the municipality of Outeiro de Rei, there is an entire Ant Village, full of details such as ants with traffic radar, by bus… A very nice village.
To the Labyrinth of the Costa Mariña Recreational Park in Rinlo, Ribadeo, we have to go ahead of time. Getting out of there is quite a challenge!
Farms
In the Casa Grande de Xanceda we will get to know organic farming up close, we will give the calves a bottle or bring the hay to the cows, among other things.
At the Belelle School Farm in Neda, A Coruña, there are many activities to get closer to life in the countryside: workshops on birds, mammals, bread, orchards, horse riding… Be careful, we have to book in advance, which is in high demand.
In Sobrado dos Monxes there is the Casa do Queixo – Granxa Grixalba, with many activities related to farm life: production activities, gastronomy, history, leisure…
In Fornelos de Montes, Pontevedra, El Kiriko has school programs, family leisure days, water activities, multi-adventure, farm…
A Capilla School Farm, in O Bolo, is a center to get closer to the rural world, among chickens, donkeys, sheep… With prior reservation, they serve lunch and dinner.
If we want to know more about the world of bees, a visit to Apipolis will meet our expectations. Visits are made to the apiary (with a special space suit), to the exhibition…
Outdoor activities
A bath in one of the pools that are scattered along our rivers always triumphs. Any examples?: the Poza de Melón, in Ourense; the Poza da Moura, in Moaña; the Pozas do río Pedras in A Pobra do Caramiñal; or the Pozas do Xurés (Vilameá, Pozo da Seima, Pozo das Olas, Corga da Fecha)…
Making a route is a classic. Some seem made especially for children: the mythological path of Monte Viso, in Santiago; the route through the footbridges of the Mao river, in the Ribeira Sacra; the farming village of Meis, next to the route of Stone and Water; the viewpoint of O Vicedo…
