Thermal springs, trails along the Tea River and buildings from different centuries give Mondariz-Balneario several facets. When planning, you can easily distinguish between the highlights: a spa and a balneotherapy circuit, two trails with clearly different lengths and formats, and historic sites whose stories span from prehistoric times to the early 20th century.
Thermal Traditions and Wellness
The Palacio del Agua is a spa covering more than 3,000 square metres. The Circuito Celta is a balneotherapy circuit inspired by ancient Celtic thermal culture. The two offer different aspects of the thermal theme: a large-scale spa on the one hand, and a circuit with an explicitly stated historical inspiration on the other.
The springs are also part of the town’s history. Fonte do Troncoso is a nitrous medicinal mineral spring; on 16 June 1873, it was declared to be of public use. Fonte da Gándara is an iron-rich medicinal mineral spring. With their different medicinal mineral properties, the springs are part of the town’s history just as much as its buildings and trails.
Trails and River Landscapes
For a walk with a manageable stated distance, the Paseo do Troncoso is a good option: this 850-metre riverside path runs along the Tea River and starts at Fonte do Troncoso. The Ruta da levada de Cambelas is longer at 2.59 kilometres and is described as a circular route; its starting point is in the town centre.
Fonte do Troncoso is on the bank of the Tea, one kilometre from the town centre. It can be reached via a short walk from the start of the Paseo do Tea. The Paseo do Troncoso, by contrast, starts at the spring; the short walk to the spring starts at the beginning of the Paseo do Tea.
The Tea River and its tributaries, the Xabriña River and the Valdecide stream, cross Mondariz-Balneario. The landscape is protected as part of the Natura 2000 network. Another way to experience the landscape is the Ruta da levada de Cambelas: it leads into the ecologically valuable forest of Rial and runs by the old Levada de Cambelas.
Another well-defined activity is the Campo de Golf Balneario de Mondariz, on the bank of the Tea. The course has 18 holes across an area of 50 hectares. Golf thus adds to the options alongside thermal attractions, historic sights and trails, without requiring these activities to be combined into a fixed day’s itinerary.
Buildings and Historical Traces
The Capela de San Pedro was probably built in the Romanesque style in the 13th century. Its surviving medieval features include a possibly Romanesque Patée cross. A separate story, explicitly identified as a tradition, places the wedding of King Don Dienis of Portugal and Isabel of Aragón in this chapel in 1282. The probable date of the building and the reported wedding are distinct historical details.
Another monument with a much earlier dating is the Dolmen-cruceiro de las Piedras: a prehistoric megalithic funerary monument with three crosses set on top.
O Gran Hotel is also part of the town’s architectural history: Xenaro de la Fonte designed the building, whose construction was completed in 1898. Fonte da Gándara is in the gardens of the Gran Hotel in the town centre. Above the iron-rich medicinal mineral spring, the architect Antonio Palacios Ramilo created a classical pavilion in 1908. The spring and pavilion thus offer a specific way to consider thermal history and architecture together.
The Monumento a Enrique Peinador Vela was inaugurated on 24 August 1919. Along with the hotel, completed in 1898, and the pavilion from 1908, it marks another dated trace of the town’s more recent history.
Discover more destinations: Alba, Ribadulla, Duxame, Crecente, Agolada, Oia, Hervés, Sieiro.
For the main travel overview: Pontevedra.
