Lugo is the only city in the world still completely surrounded by intact Roman walls. Built in the late third century, when the Roman Empire was under pressure from invasions, the walls run for more than two kilometres around the old town, with dozens of semicircular towers and ten gates, some Roman and some added later. They are wide enough at the top for a walkway, and walking the full circuit, with views over the rooftops of the old town on one side and the modern city on the other, is the best way to get a sense of the place. The walls were listed by UNESCO in 2000.
Inside the walls, the old town of Lugo is a pleasant maze of narrow streets, squares and old houses, with a cathedral that combines Romanesque, Gothic, baroque and neoclassical styles, and plenty of bars serving tapas and wine. Lugo is famous for its generous tapas culture, with a free plate of food often served with each drink. The city is also a stop on the Camino Primitivo, the oldest route of the Way of Saint James, which runs from Oviedo to Santiago de Compostela, and pilgrims with backpacks are a common sight in the streets.
The riding around Lugo is through the green, rolling countryside of inland Galicia, with fields, woods, small villages and stone farmhouses. The roads are generally good, with gentle bends and little traffic outside the main routes. To the south east, the mountains of the Ribeira Sacra offer spectacular riding, with roads winding along the steep slopes of the Miño and Sil canyons, past terraced vineyards and ancient monasteries. Further east, the Roman gold mines of Las Médulas, in the neighbouring region of El Bierzo, created a surreal landscape of red rock pinnacles and caves, and they are another UNESCO site worth the ride.
Lugo, a city of nearly a hundred thousand people, has fuel, shops and plenty of restaurants. The local food is classic Galician: pulpo a feira, octopus boiled and served with paprika and olive oil, empanadas, beef from the local Rubia Gallega cattle, and the cheeses of the region, including the soft, mild tetilla. The weather is mild and wet, with rain likely at any time of year, and fog can settle in the valleys in autumn and winter.