Benedictine monastery of San Xulián de Samos

Samos is a small village in heart of Galicia and has a large and famous monastery.

The monastery at Samos is best known for being on one of the many pilgrim’s routes (the “way of St. James”) to Santiago de Compostela cathedral, but it is a highly impressive and massive structure in its own right. It is also still active and additionally offers lodgings for those on religious retreats or connected with the pilgrimage.

The monastery is huge and constructed of large light coloured granite stone, precisely cut by masons from another age. The actual town of Samos, if you can call it that, has nothing but the monastery and a few bar to offer, but it is this religious icon that attracts visitors and rightly so.

The church facade is reached by walking around the main structure and then descending down some steps. It is only the church and cloisters that are open to the public, although you can circum navigate the entire campus on a foot path. There is also a river-come-stream that runs behind Samos monastery. The complete area is serene and picturesque.