Sanxenxo urban area. Health resorts history and boutique´s shopping area

About this heritage

Sanxenxo is a village located on the west coast of Pontevedra bathed by the Atlantic ocean, which due to its privileged location is considered as a Rías Baixas touristic capital. Its beautiful beaches and natural landscapes of great beauty stand out.

It has a 6 km long promenade which links the Sanxenxo marina break water and goes on until the Caneliñas beach in Portonovo.

It passes through the Sanxenxo Yatch Club , Silgar and Baltar beaches and the Punta Vicaño public park. It is an easy route that goes the whole time by the coast shores.

Hydrotherapy in Galicia has been present from the Celic baths or the famous Roman thermal baths, so this is, that this tradition went beyond with the use of the marine waters for curative purposes as it is the thalassotherapy.

The thermal tradition in Sanxenxo dates back to the beginning of the century, when the first spa in the town was opened, which also marked the beginning of its tourist vocation.

Nowadays Sanxenxo has hotels with modern facilities, offering a wide range of spa and thalassotherapy services with more than 10.000 m2.

It has many treatments oriented to improving rheumatic conditions or chronic skin diseases, and even to improve conditions in sport injuries. Also a wide variety of beauty treatments, anti-stress, shiatsu and Thai massages, volcanic stones, Turkish and Celtic baths, among others.

In the village you can also take advantage and visit the shops in the area hat are concentrated in Madrid street and Silgar´s walk, everything is very close and the biggest advantage is to enjoy the landscape and gastronomy at the same time.

To learn more

Sanxenxo is a coastal town in the province of Pontevedra. Its privilegued location gives it excellent climatic conditions, with mild temperatures all year round, an environment with unrivalled charm in which the beautiful beaches and natural landscapes of great beauty stand out. The Sanxenxo City Council has an are of 44 km2which is divided into seven parishes (Adina, Bordóns, Dorrón, Nantes, Noalla, Padriñán and Vilalonga) with an approximate population of 17.100 inhabitants, being Sanxenxo, Portonovo and Vilalonga the main urban areas.

Its 36km of coastline extends along the Pontevedra and Arousa estuaries, with small coves and 24 beaches (14 of them with blue flag), it is the most rewarded Spanish city and the second European since 2004.

This municipality has a marina called “Juan Carlos I”, this port has a 50m mouth and a draft ranging from 5 to 8 meters and 450 moorings between 8 and 45 meters.

The Juan Carlos I marina and the Portonovo and Sanxenxo Yacht Clubs have excellent facilities for the enjoyment of nautical activities. Throughout the year you can practice sailing and there are several sailing tournaments that take place. Dinghy and cruising sailing courses are also offered all year.

Sanxenxo is a reference point in Galician tourism and it also opens up to the rest of the world thanks to its accessible infrastructures with near motorways or airports as the ones in Vigo or Santiago.

To know it better

In Sanxenxo´s city centre, in a square near the promenade of Silgar´s beach we can see the famous sculpture “Aviador Piñeiro”. This bronze work was made by Alfonso Vilar in 1970 and is a tribute to the first Galician aviator, José Piñeiro González.

In the 20th century, Sanxenxo already had a spa and nowadays the thalassotherapy centre of Sanxenxo is one of the most modern stone constructed spa. Apart from the spa, the complex is one of the most prestigious hotels in the municipality.

Both the small streets of Sanxenxo and on its promenade, the town has different shops and boutiques to go shopping. In addition, in the nautical centre there are also several shops where you can buy clothes for all ages and tastes.

Sanxenxo is a Galician municipality located in Pontevedra´s province. It is situated in the Val do Salnés region, on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in both estuaries of Pontevedra and Arousa.

The name of this fishing village comes from San Ginés, which is the Town´s patron saint. In 1842 the village was called Sanjenjo, in 1877 Sangenjo and finally in 1983, its name changed to Sanxenxo as it is currently called.