Conxo sits on the southern edge of Santiago de Compostela, in the green hollows that surround the pilgrim city, and its monastery has a history that is quieter and sadder than the cathedral's. The old religious house was repurposed in the nineteenth century as a psychiatric hospital, one of the first of its kind in Galicia, and it spent much of the modern era in that role. The complex sits among trees and low stone walls, and what you notice most is how calm and shut away it feels, only a couple of kilometres from the crowds around the Obradoiro square.
Santiago itself needs little introduction. The city grew up around the tomb said to belong to the apostle James, and for more than a thousand years pilgrims have walked here from every direction. Today the old centre is a maze of granite arcades and covered streets that gleam when it rains, which it does often. The climate is Atlantic, soft and wet, so plan on waterproofs at any time of the year and enjoy the fact that the stone is always greener and darker than you expect.
The rides that start here go north-east to Lugo, with its intact Roman walls, and to the Tower of Hercules at A Coruña, a Roman lighthouse that has been working for nearly two thousand years. Roads in Galicia are generally good and often twisting, running through eucalyptus, pine and small farmland, with granite crosses at junctions and hórreos, the stilted stone granaries, beside the farmhouses. Traffic around Santiago is moderate, and the bypasses move well.
Santiago is a university and pilgrimage town of nearly a hundred thousand people, so fuel, food and a bed are never far away. For a meal, go for pulpo a feira, octopus with paprika and olive oil on a wooden plate, or empanada and a glass of Albariño. Parking a bike near the old town can be awkward, so use the ring roads and walk in.