The Casco Vello (Old Town) climbs the steep hillside above Vigo's fishing port, a compact district of narrow granite streets built before the grid-and-boulevard city took shape below. The streets are dark, damp, and atmospheric in the way of northwest Spain — arcaded stone buildings, window boxes dripping with flowers, and the smell of the sea never far away.
The main artery is the stepped Rúa do Olivo, but the best wandering is off the main routes: the back lanes between the Concatedral de Santa María and the Praza da Constitución, where old-fashioned tabernas serve cheap wine and the afternoon light hits the granite at a beautiful angle. The Parque do Castro at the top of the hill rewards the climb with panoramic views over the ría.