What To Know About The Romera De San Lzaro Festival Spain

Romería de San Lázaro Festival is a big event on calendars in the Spanish region of Galicia, in the northwest of the country, particularly in the city of Santiago de Compostela. Here’s everything you need to know about the festival, from when and where it takes place, to what you can expect to see.

Where does it take place?

The main Romería de San Lázaro Festival takes place in the Galician city of Santiago de Compostela, but there are a few other smaller festivals that take place in other towns nearby such as Pontecesures and Lugo. Other cities in Spain also hold their own romerías (religious pilgrimage festivals), celebrating other saints, at different times of the year.

Visit Santiago de Compostela during the Romería de San Lázaro Festival

When is it?

What is it about?

The ‘romería’ of San Lázaro is a neighbourhood, which is located entrance of the city, along the Camino de Santiago – the long pilgrimage walk across the top of Spain. It is both a religious and gastronomic festival, also being referred to as the Festa Gastronómica da Uña, which literally translates as the ‘Gastronomic Festival of the Nails’.

See the Romería de San Lázaro Festival in Santiago de Compostela

What happens?

The Saint of San Lázaro is honoured during the festival with a Mass and a procession and pilgrimage through the neighbourhood. The other part of the festival is the gastronomic part, where according to ancient tradition, pig’s trotters are presented as an offering to the saint. Everyone then prepares a special dish based on pig’s trotters to eat during the celebrations. The trotters are boiled along with cabbage, potatoes and chorizo, before being served, sprinkled with paprika and drizzled with olive oil. Many of the local restaurants will be serving this dish on these dates, so look out for it on the menus. The even culminates in live music and an open-air dance.

Try this dish of pig’s trotters during the Romería de San Lázaro in Santiago de Compostela

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.