The paseo marítimo of Pontevedra is a pedestrian way along the seafront facing the ria of Pontevedra, in

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the ''Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia. It is also the capital of its own municipality whi ...

, Spain. This coastal public space is built in the urban and semi-urban area of the city and defines its encounter with the sea and the

Lérez The Lérez is a river in South West Galicia, Spain. The river meets the Atlantic Ocean at Pontevedra, where it creates Pontevedra's ria. The sources of the long stream are in Serra do Candán, in the mountain of San Bieito, in the parish of Ac ...

river.

History

At the beginning of the 20th century it was a rough and stony path along the

Ria de Pontevedra The Ria de Pontevedra is located in the Province of Pontevedra, in Galicia, Spain. It is one of the three main maritime entrances of Galicia, the Rías Baixas, the most touristic area of the region. It is also the most regular of them and the thi ...

and the

river. The current pedestrian walkway has several sections that were built at different times by different public administrations. Until 1997, the banks of the

river were not developed. In 1996, the

Galician Government The Xunta de Galicia (; "Regional Government of Galicia") is the collective decision-making body of the government of the autonomous community of Galicia, composed of the President, the Vice-President(s) and the specialized ministers (''Consell ...

awarded the construction work on the banks from the Tirantes Bridge to the

Lérez Beach The Lérez beach is a Galician beach located in the municipality of Pontevedra in the province of Pontevedra Pontevedra is a province of Spain along the country's Atlantic coast in southwestern Europe. The province forms the southwestern ...

area to the construction company OCP, including a new access to the Monte Porreiro district. Work began on 7 October 1996.The project covered a total of 42,000 square metres on the left bank of the river. On the right bank, the project consisted of the development of a 110,000 square metre strip with green spaces, wooden bridges, improvement of the forestry, installation of urban furniture and lighting. The promenade, known as the ''Paseo del Lérez'', was inaugurated by the President of the Galician Government on 24 July 1997. From that day on, this pedestrian way has been the main place for the inhabitants of Pontevedra to walk. In 2000, the Ministry of Public Works began the redesign of the Orillamar pedestrian way (''Beiramar'' in Galician) from the

Burgo Bridge The Burgo Bridge ''(Puente del Burgo)'' is a medieval bridge, built over an older bridge of Roman origin, which crosses the Lérez River in the city of Pontevedra, Spain. It is on the route of the Portuguese Way to the north of the historic cen ...

to the port of Corbaceiras. A roundabout with an ornamental pool was created in front of the Burgo Bridge and the sculpture Dorna by the artist Xaime Quesada was installed there. It was later moved to Gorgullón street during the new restructuring of Avenida Uruguay in 2006. The work on this new pedestrian promenade on the banks of the

was inaugurated by the Vice-President of the Spanish Government,

Mariano Rajoy Mariano Rajoy Brey (; born 27 March 1955) is a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018, when a vote of no confidence ousted his government. On 5 June 2018, he announced his resignation as People's Party lead ...

, on 20 August 2001. In 2009, the Pontevedra City Council launched the project to extend the promenade from the port of Corbaceiras and the mouth of the Gafos River into the Pontevedra ria, to open up the city to the sea. The project was designed by the architect José Ramón Garitaonaindia de Vera. The seafront has been developed, one lane of the PO-12 dual carriageway has been removed and land in the public maritime domain has been occupied. An observation platform was built on stilts over the

ria de Pontevedra The Ria de Pontevedra is located in the Province of Pontevedra, in Galicia, Spain. It is one of the three main maritime entrances of Galicia, the Rías Baixas, the most touristic area of the region. It is also the most regular of them and the thi ...

, overlooking the island of Tambo. The promenade was inaugurated on 25 March 2011. In July 2017, the city council refurbished the Lérez promenade by repairing cracks in the footpath and cycle path. A section of approximately 300 metres, between the

and the Tirantes Bridge, was also strengthened by the installation of almost 700 piles with beams placed on the edge of the promenade. In June 2020, the Ministry of Ecological Transition awarded the construction company San José the contract to extend the seafront promenade (including a cycle path) by more than two kilometres, from the Malvar roundabout to Os Placeres, in the civil parish of Lourizán. Work began in August 2020. The first kilometre and three hundred metres of this section of the promenade was officially opened to pedestrians on 26 February 2022.

Description

Visually and in the collective unconscious, the Paseo Marítimo, the Paseo de Orillamar and the Paseo del Lérez form a single coastal artery: ''Orillamar'' (= Seaside). Pontevedra_capital_Paseo_Marítimo_Avenida_de_Marín

Pontevedra_capital_Paseo_Marítimo_Avenida_de_Marín

* Paseo marítimo: From the port of Corbaceiras to the Malvar roundabout, the promenade has a 1 km long, 2.5-metre wide wooden path overlooking the

in some places and a 2.2-metre wide cycle path. In the area near Manuel del Palacio street, stone steps leading down to the

have been repaired. The promenade includes LED lighting bollards separating the cycle path from the pedestrian walkway, several concrete design benches covered in wood near the junction of Manuel del Palacio street and a 100 square metre observation point on stilts above the

with views of the island of Tambo. In 2020, work began to extend the promenade by a further two kilometres, incorporating a cycle path along the entire length of the promenade. The aim of extending the promenade is to open up the city to the sea. When the tide is low in the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

, large

sandbanks Sandbanks is an affluent neighbourhood of Poole, Dorset, on the south coast of England, situated on a narrow spit of around 1 km2 or 0.39 sq mi extending into the mouth of Poole Harbour. It is known for its high property prices and for it ...

are exposed, forming a

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

area that attracts many

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

s such as

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...

wader 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...

s and

sea ducks The sea ducks (''Mergini'') are a tribe of the duck subfamily of birds, the Anatinae. The taxonomy of this group is incomplete. Some authorities separate the group as a subfamily, while others remove some genera. Most species within the group sp ...

. This area is attracting more and more

birdwatchers Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

Pontevedra_capital_Paseo_de_Orillamar_y_puerto_deportivo

* Paseo de Orillamar (from the port of Corbaceiras to the

): The Orillamar promenade is equipped with a stainless steel railing, wooden benches, litter bins, lawns, shrubs, trees ( stone pines, weeping figs,

liquidambar ''Liquidambar'', commonly called sweetgum (star gum in the UK), gum, redgum, satin-walnut, or American storax, is the only genus in the flowering plant family Altingiaceae and has 15 species. They were formerly often treated in Hamamelidaceae ...

camphor tree ''Camphora officinarum'' is a species of evergreen tree that is commonly known under the names camphor tree, camphorwood or camphor laurel. Description ''Camphora officinarum'' is native to China south of the Yangtze River, Taiwan, southe ...

s, Callery pear trees,

privet A privet is a flowering plant in the genus ''Ligustrum''. The genus contains about 50 species of erect, deciduous or evergreen shrubs, sometimes forming small or medium-sized trees, native species, native to Europe, north Africa, Asia, many in ...

s), a red hedge behind the benches and several drinking water fountains. The promenade is surfaced with pink granite and black slate tiles arranged in a criss-cross pattern. The pedestrian walkway crosses the Barca Bridge with a wooden platform that runs inside one of the spans of the bridge. A pedestrian underground passage with natural light through the upper

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

on Uruguay Avenue, runs under the

Currents Bridge The Currents Bridge (''puente de las Corrientes'' in Spanish), is a tied-arch bridge that crosses the Lérez River in the city of Pontevedra, Spain. It was inaugurated in 2012 and connects Uruguay Avenue and Domingo Fontán Street. History Th ...

. This passage is protected on the side of the

ria A ria (; gl, ría) is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea. Definitions Typically rias have a dendritic, treelike outline although they ca ...

by a glass screen, so that the water can be seen during high tides when the sea level rises. Pontevedra_capital_Carril_bici_Paseo_del_Lérez

* Paseo del Lérez (from the Tirantes Bridge to the

): It includes a cycle path, a pedestrian promenade with a breakwater and

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

steps leading down to the river, benches, lampposts and gardens with rows of

plane trees ''Platanus'' is a genus consisting of a small number of tree species native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae. All mature members of ''Platanus'' are tall, reaching in height. All except f ...

In the middle of the promenade is the cable-stayed footbridge designed by the civil engineer Hugo Corres Peiretti, which spans the

river and leads to the

Island of Sculptures The Covo Island, better known as the Island of Sculptures or Illa das Esculturas in Galician, is a park and island located near the mouth of the Lérez River, in Pontevedra, Spain. It has an area of 70,000 m² and is connected to both banks of ...

park. The curved deck of this bridge, which allows small boats to pass, has a span of 82.50 metres and a deflection of 13.40 metres, with a sheet metal deck and a curved arch of 1 metre diameter.

Tourist attractions

* The bridges crossing the

and the

river: the Barca Bridge, the

, the

and the Tirantes Bridge. * The

Pontevedra marina The marina of Pontevedra (Pontevedra, Spain) is located at the mouth of the Lérez river in the ria de Pontevedra. Its nautical chart is 4162-HMI. It is managed by the Club Náutico, Nautical Club of Pontevedra, by concession of the public entit ...

, next to the Paseo d'Orillamar (Uruguay Avenue). * The central market of Pontevedra, near the

. * The

Pontevedra Museum The Pontevedra Museum (formerly the Pontevedra Provincial Museum) is a museum in the Galician city of Pontevedra in Spain. It was founded by the Provincial Deputation of Pontevedra on 30 December 1927 and has six buildings for its exhibitions. ...

, near the Santiago Bridge. * The

at low tide for watching

s. * The

Tambo Island The Tambo Island is an island in the middle of the Pontevedra bay, in Spain. It belongs to the municipality of Poio, from which it is separated by a 1.1 km long but shallow channel. Its surface area is 0.28 km², with a maximum height ...

, can be seen from the promenade.

Gallery

File:Paseo marítimo con vistas a la isla de Tambo - Pontevedra capital.jpg, Seafront promenade File:Paseo Marítimo de Pontevedra capital.jpg, Seafront promenade File:Pontevedra city Seafront promenade.jpg, Pontevedra seafront promenade with the city File:Seafront promenade Pontevedra city.jpg, Seafront promenade File: Pontevedra capital Paseo marítimo.jpg, Paseo marítimo File: Paseo Marítimo de Pontevedra capital con ciudad al fondo.jpg, Seafront Promenade with the city in the background File:Paseo Marítimo de Pontevedra capital e Isla de Tambo.jpg, Seafront promenade and

File:Paseo Marítimo de Pontevedra capital Mirador de la ría.jpg, Seafront promenade and viewpoint File:Paseo Marítimo de Pontevedra capital y ciudad.jpg, Seafront promenade File:Paseo Marítimo de Pontevedra y astilleros.jpg, Seafront promenade and shipyards in the background File:Paseo Marítimo de Pontevedra capital y gravilla.jpg, Seafront promenade File:Paseo Marítimo Pontevedra capital y Baliza.jpg, Seafront promenade and the city File:Paseo Marítimo de Pontevedra capital arena y ría de Pontevedra.jpg, Seafront promenade and

File: Paseo marítimo de Pontevedra capital.JPG, Paseo marítimo File: Pontevedra capital Paseo Marítimo.jpg, Paseo marítimo File: Pontevedra-Puente-de-la-Barca.jpg, Paseo de Orillamar and Barca Bridge File: Pontevedra Capital Avenida de Orillamar y puente de las Corrientes.jpg, Paseo de Orillamar and

File: Pontevedra capital Paseo del Lérez y Puente de los Tirantes.jpg, Paseo del Lérez

History

Description

Tourist attractions

Gallery

References

See also

Related articles

External links