Things to do in Vigo

The gym

The most famous gyms in Vigo are McFit and the Simon Gym, which are located near the centre of Vigo, in Urzaiz Street. Also, if you live far from the centre, you can go to the Florida Gym, located in Avenida de Florida, next to Plaza America.

Depending on the price and the activities you like, the cheapest gym is the Florida Gym, where if you are a student, you have a discount and you pay €20 per month, and if  you aren't, you pay €25 per month. The most expensive gym is McFit. It costs €50. In the midde of the three is the Simon Gym which costs €35.

As for the activities, the 3 gyms have different options. Mcfit is a regular gym where you can find the typical machines like the shoulder press machine, stationary bike, treadmill etc. The Florida gym has some activiites like Zumba, pilates, etc. On the other hand, the Simon gym is only for martial arts like jiu jitsu, boxing, judo, etc.

So, you have 3 great but different options to go to the gym in Vigo depending on the money you have or your favourite gym activities.

The cinema

If you like the cinema, here in Vigo we have 4 cinemas, 2 in the city centre and the other 2 further away. In order of price, from the cheapest to the most expensive:

The cheapest cinema is Via Norte in Via Norte street. It is the oldest cinema in Vigo. It reopened in 2012 but it was open before. Tickets cost €5 everyday except Wednesdays when it costs €3.50. In this cinema there are 5 halls.

Yelmo Cines is in Travesía street. It opened in 2003. Tickets cost approx. €8 but again on Wednesdays, they cost €5. In this cinema, there are 7 halls.

Another cinema in Vigo that was the busiest before the shopping centre Vialia opened is Gran Via Cines in Miradoiro street. Tickets cost the same as in Yelmo Cines but Gran Via is busier than Yelmos Cines because it's inside a shopping centre and some people who go shopping take advantage of this and go to the cinema. 

The most expensive and biggest cinema is Yelmo Cines Premium in the shopping centre, Vialia. Tickets cost approx. €12 everyday except Wednesdays when they cost €6. The cinema has 9 halls with reclining seats, which are more comfortable than the others, and it has children's rooms that have sofas for children and their parents.

Restaurants and Christmas lights

In this article we are going to talk about the restaurants and Christmas lights in Vigo.

Restaurants in Vigo

Some of our best choices to eat with the family and friends here in Vigo are: La Pepita, Cúrcuma, El Puerto or El Asador Soriano. First we will compare La Pepita with Cúrcuma and finally we will compare El Puerto with El Asador Soriano. 

On the one hand 'La Pepita' you can eat a different variety of burgers and salads. The menu has a variety of dishes such as codfish burger, caesar salad, meat burger, vegan burger, smash burger ... whereas Cúrcuma restaurant has more healthy food than that of 'La Pepita'. Here you can eat more vegan food, salads with baked vegetables, moussaka and other dishes that include a variety of vegetables. On the other hand, El Puerto has some delicious fresh fish dishes while El Asador Soriano has more meat dishes. This last one is the most expensive of the four restaurants.

In all the restaurants you need to make a reservation. The best restaurant to make a reservation is La Pepita, because you can do it online or by telephone. We also believe that the option of booking online at La Pepita is much easier than in the rest of the restaurants, because you can choose the hour that you prefer.

Remember that if you go by car, you need to arrive with enough time to park because Cúrcuma, La Pepita and El Puerto are located in the centre of Vigo, so it's difficult to find a good place to park.

The Christmas lights

Now we are going to talk about the Christmas lights, some of the different places that you can visit here in Vigo.

By far the nicest place to see the Christmas lights is the Principle street because the whole street is full of lights and you can see the Christmas tree at the end of the street. Also, we recommend taking a walk through the Policarpo Sanz street, because we believe this street is almost as bright and beautiful as the Principle street.

If you feel tired and hungry you can take a break and go to the Alameda street, because there is a big marketplace full of stalls, where you can eat a different variety of food, while strolling around the square. The giant wheel is also in this area so you could also go on a ride and enjoy the sunset and beautiful views of Vigo.

You can get on the double-decker tourist bus that will take you to the Castro, a park in the centroand from there you can take a mini tourist train that will tke you to other quieter places of Vigo such as Castrelos park or the Traviesas zona with less lighting and fewer crowds.

Carballo

It is a generally well-known restaurant in Vigo, with 40 years of history, that focuses on tapas and sandwiches with good value for money.

These restaurants (because there are three) are located in: Manuel Nuñez (Carballo 1),  Florida/Fragoso (Carballo 3) and Gregorio Espino (Carballo 4). I recommend going walking because it is dificult to find free parking near the restaurants.

The service is friendly and the place is bright and clean. Their speciality is the "tortilla española", which is truly delightful (delicious). Other great dishes of this place are fried squid and "empanadillas" which are made with pastry and filled with different food, for example, veal, tuna fish, squid and so on.

Cantina Mexicana Las Brasas

If you like Mexican food and you are in Vigo, you should go to the Cantina Mexicana Las Brasas.

It's in Cuba street which is near the Corte Ingles, in Gran Vía street. This restaurant is a good option if you want to go with your family, friends or alone. The staff is very friendly and much helpful. The place is illuminated, cosy and lively. The food is delicious and very tasty. Its home-made desserts are very, very good. If you have fear because Mexican food is normally spicy, in this place, the food is only spicy if you want it that way. Everytime when I came there, I ate very well and the waiters  were always very friendly to me.

The only three drawbacks are, in the first place, free parking isn't near the restaurant. In the second place, it's a little expensive, but it's cheaper than other Mexican restaurants in Vigo. And, in the third place, you should phone them to reserve before going.

I recommend going to this restaurant.

Caminito Pendiente

In Caminito Pendiente, you can take a beer or wine with friends and you can eat delicious tapas.

It’s in Vigo, in Manuel Núñez Street which is near Principe Street, the main pedestrian street in town.  So after dinner I can go with my friends to a disco because it’s situated near the party (clubbing) area.

If you go with a friends or your partner to have dinner you can order a lot of delicius tapas. These tapas could be squid, Spanish omelette, croquettes, or small pasties filled with tuna or cod or meat, etc.

It´s not expensive because the tapas are big and the quality is good. It costs around €10.

Although if you don't feel like eating a lot, you can take a beer or wine and they give you these with a tapa for free.

You can also have breakfast before coming to class. I think it’s cheap and the homemade cake is very good. They serve a good breakfast.

The atmosphere is cosy and I especially like the decoration because it’s very colourful. One thing that caught my attention is that the tables are made with colorful doors and inside there is a lamppost.

The waiter/waitress service is nice and the waiters are young and friendly.

If you want to taste real Spanish tapas you only have to go to Caminito Pendiente.

Chivito

I´m going to talk about a cheap restaurant. The name of the restaurant is “Chivito”. Chivito is a restaurant when you can eat burguers, hot dogs and salads.

The atmosphere is very friendly and cosy. The service is excellent, and the attention is excellent too. Besides, the price of the food is inexpensive. The price of the burguers is €3 more or less, the salads maybe €6, and the hot dogs €2.50.

Chivito is a popular and family-run restaurant. This restaurant has a take-away service so if you want to eat the food at home, Chivito is a good option.

The location of the restaurant is good; it is near Plaza América, in Fragoso street or you have another Chivito in Jenaro de la Fuente.

This restaurant is open every day, but the Sunday opens at 8p.m.

Mesón Orensano

Mesón Orensano is a traditional Galician bar. It´s in Vigo, situated on Zamora 7 Street, near Plaza España.

This place is cheap and famous for its tapas. If you take a drink, they give you free tapas. The tapas that they give you are: fried squid, roasted beef, Spanish omelette, Padron peppers, zorza… etc. Its size is medium.

This restaurant is ideal for having dinner with your friends or your partner. You can take big tapas to share. Also, you can taste the homemade desserts like “filloas”,chocolate cake, apple pie, custard…etc.

The atmosphere is cool and fantastic. At the weekends, there are a lot of people, especially on Thursdays, Fridays and when there is a match. These days, you should to go soon, because usually there isn´t a table free.

I recommend this place for a good time with your friends.