The Mercado de Abastos, (food market), old town streets and the Ensanche (urban expansion area) are full of gastronomic products for tasting and taking away. Eau-de-vie and wine come in gift boxes. Cold meat and cheese are logical choices because they keep well, and many shops will wrap them up for your trip home. Turnip tops, molluscs and even Galician algae are available in tins.

“Tartas de Santiago” (almond cakes), whether hand-made or factory produced, are also popular souvenirs, as are “piedras de Santiago ” (chocolate-covered almonds), “caprichos de Santiago ”, resulting from the sweet combination of almonds and meringue, and locally produced bars of chocolate.

More options: Galician honey, with its wild flower taste and nuances of eucalyptus and wood; and chestnuts, which can be eaten roasted during winter walks or packed into your suitcase in the sweet form of marron glacé .

Special mention should be made of convent desserts, made by Santiago 's congregations of nuns, products that become almost angelical when they leave the convent oven. The Benedictine nuns of San Paio make “almendrados” (almond biscuits), cookies, fairy cakes and “tartas de Santiago ”(almond cakes), and also puff pastry cakes and swiss rolls if ordered in advance. The Dominican nuns of Belvís specialise in Christmas confectionery, making “mantecados” (sweet made from flour, almonds and lard) and almond biscuits ordered in advance, and bake delicious biscuits during the rest of the year.