Galicia - land of a thousand estuaries

Green and verdant, rocky and dramatic, Galicia is a beautiful, remote corner of north-west Spain. The Romans had long heard tales of this spectacular land where seafood was abundant and vines grew. They arrived in the fifth century and cultivated terrace after terrace of vines up the steep valley slopes.

Now wine lovers head to Galicia to taste its unique 'vinos'. The luscious, zesty acidity of the Albariños from Rías Baixas is top of most people's list, backed up by the floral Treixadura from Ribeiro and the supple, pure fruit of Mencia in Ribeira Sacra.

Galicia may be known as Finisterre - the end of the earth - but it is also called Costa do Marisco, the 'seafood coast'. With 12,000km of coastline, the region has some of Europe's best mussels, clams and octopus. The local 'empanadas' fish pie has Celtic origins - the settlers in Galicia before the Romans. The Galician city of Vigo is one of the world's major fishing ports, where octopus, razor clams and mussels caught fresh from the Atlantic are sold daily. Like the local wines, these mussels have their own Denominación de origen (DO), demonstrating that Galicia excels in certain foods as well as wine.