Practical information for Santiago

Nobody travels to Santiago thinking about luggage lockers or duty pharmacies, but sooner or later everyone needs one: the pilgrim who arrives at nine in the morning with check-in at two, the tourist who loses a wallet in a bar on Rúa do Franco, the family that needs cough syrup on a Sunday. This page has no nice photos. It has phone numbers that work.

Where to leave your backpack or suitcase

The most reliable option is Correos (the Spanish post office), which runs a dedicated pilgrim office in Santiago at Rúa do Franco, 4, less than two minutes' walk from Praza do Obradoiro. They'll store backpacks, suitcases, walking poles and even bikes by the day, and they also handle luggage transfer between stages of the Camino (the well-known "Paq Mochila" service), handy if you want to walk the final stretch unencumbered. Hours change with the season: from 23 March to 30 November they open every day from 8:30 to 20:30; the rest of the year, Monday to Friday keep the same hours, but Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays only 10:00-18:00 (closed 25 December, 1 and 6 January).

The Estación Intermodal (Rúa de Clara Campoamor, s/n — tel. 981 542 416) also has a left-luggage counter, open roughly 6:30 to 22:00; worth confirming at the information desk when you arrive. If you'd rather stay closer to the old town, there are several private self-service lockers a few hundred metres from the Obradoiro, with rates by bag size that typically run 2.50-6 € a day. For bikes, Otero Bike Park, about 200 metres from the bus station, opens every day from 9:00 to 22:00 and offers storage as well as repairs.

Tourist offices

There are two, and confusingly they sit almost opposite each other on the same street. The municipal tourist office is at Rúa do Vilar, 63 (tel. 981 555 129), open 10:00-18:00 from November to April, and 9:00-19:00 during Holy Week and from May to October — open year-round, with no closing days. The Turismo de Galicia office, run by the regional government, sits almost directly across the street at number 1 of the same Rúa do Vilar (tel. 881 866 397 / 881 866 398), open Monday to Saturday 10:00-17:00 and public holidays 10:00-14:30. If one is shut or has a queue, try the other.

Duty pharmacies

The rota of duty pharmacies across Galicia is listed at farmacias.gal, the pharmacists' association portal, though the simplest method remains the old one: any closed pharmacy has a sign in the window with the address of whichever one is on duty that night. In the centre, three regular names are Farmacia Madriñán (Rúa Santiago de León de Caracas, 8), Farmacia de Helena (Rúa Fernando III o Santo, 4) and Farmacia Alessandro de Donno (Rúa Xeneral Pardiñas, 2), though not all of them are on duty every day.

Emergencies and health

For any emergency, 112 is the single number for the whole of Galicia; 061 handles medical emergencies specifically. The reference hospital is the CHUS (Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago), on Travesía da Choupana, s/n, with an emergency department open 24 hours (tel. 981 950 000). For anything less urgent, the Concepción Arenal health centre, on the street of the same name at number 12, takes appointments on 981 952 950, and the PAC (out-of-hours clinic) covers emergencies outside that schedule: Monday to Saturday 15:00 to 8:00 the next morning, and Sundays and public holidays the full 24 hours.

Laundry

If you've been several days on the Camino and your backpack is starting to smell more than it should, there are self-service launderettes in the centre: on Rúa de San Roque, 11, a 12 kg wash costs around 5 € and drying another 3 €, with cycles a little over half an hour. Waterproof runs two branches further from the old town, in Vite (Avenida de Castelao, 34) — open every day until 23:00 — and in Meixonfrío (Avenida de Lugo, 215).

Lost property and police

If you lose something — or have it taken — in Santiago, the Policía Local (local police) is based on Rúa da Trindade, s/n, with a general phone line (981 542 323) and a dedicated lost-property line (981 543 027), staffed 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. For reports needing the Policía Nacional (national police), the station is at Avenida Rodrigo de Padrón, 3, ground floor (tel. 981 551 100; you can also book an appointment on 060), also open all year round at any hour.