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Samil Beach

Beaches of Galicia (Spain)Galicia (Spain) geography stubs
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Samil Beach (Galician: Praia de Samil, Spanish: Playa de Samil) is the principal beach of Vigo in Galicia in north-west Spain. Located near the Cíes Islands, the mouth of the river Lagares is found at its west end. The beach is 1,700 metres (5,600 ft) long and is connected with the urban public transport, and disabled access is available during the summer. Several Vitrasa urban public transport lines connect it with different areas of the city. Those lines are: L10, C15A, C15B and C15C during the whole year, C3 during the summer, and the night lines CN1 and CN2. Around Samil, several services have been created: museums (such as "Museo do Mar" and "Verbum"), several catering premises, clubs and cafés. Its promenade covers the littoral zone and it offers several leisure facilities (three public swimming pools, garden areas, basketball courts, a mini-soccer court, tennis and paddle courts, a skating rink, and terraces).

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Samil Beach (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Samil Beach
Vigo Navia

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N 42.21 ° E -8.7763888888889 °
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36331 Vigo, Navia
Galicia, Spain
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Ria de Vigo
Ria de Vigo

Vigo Ria (Spanish: Ría de Vigo) and (Galician: Ría de Vigo) is an estuary in Galicia, Spain. It is the southernmost ria of the Rías Baixas. It is located south of the province of Pontevedra, and extends in a northeast direction over a distance of 35 kilometres (22 mi) from its mouth at Cape Silleiro to the deepest point in Arcade, with a maximum width of 7 km (4.3 mi) and the narrowest in the Strait of Rande, at 700 m (2,300 ft). Its western entrance is protected by the Cies Islands, which are part of the National Park of the Atlantic Islands which is within the islands of Toralla and San Simon. It borders to the north with the Morrazo Peninsula. In the extreme south lies the Bay of Baiona. Its easy access, depth and calm waters make the Vigo estuary an ideal retreat for sailing and water sports.From the environmental point of view, it is a bay with a biological richness due to its water currents and deep cold waters from the north, carrying large quantities of nutrients. Historically, the Vigo estuary area has been good for fishing and shell fishing, although current conditions are not ideal due to high human and industrial activity on the coastal waterfront.On its banks stands the city of Vigo. The municipalities of Baiona, Nigrán, Redondela, Soutomaior, Vilaboa, Moaña and Cangas do Morrazo are also situated here. It has a total population of about 420,000 inhabitants. The Battle of Rande was fought here on October 23, 1702, more precisely at the end of the estuary, in the Ensenada de San Simón. In 1943, the following German U-boats are reported to have been sunk somewhere in the ria: German submarine U-523, sunk 25 August 1943 (17 dead and 37 survivors), and U-506, sunk at 15:50 on 12 July 1943 (48 dead and six survivors).

Castro fortress
Castro fortress

The Fortress of El Castro is a fortification located in Vigo, Spain built in 1665 by the Spanish Empire in the province of Pontevedra during the Portuguese Restoration War to defend the region from potential attacks by English forces.Built on a hill of the same name, the defensive system of Vigo consisted of the fortresses of O Castro and San Sebastián along with the city wall. The city wall had an irregular shape due to the orography of the city, and was constructed by two Spanish Army officers: Colonel Fernando de Gourannanbergue and Maestre de campo Diego Arias Taboada to link the two fortresses together. Despite this effort to provide security to the city, documents from that time say that this defensive system was ineffective as it could not impede landings further along the coast. During the War of the Spanish Succession, the fortress saw action during the Battle of Vigo Bay on 23–24 October 1702, when a combined English Royal Navy and Dutch States Navy fleet attacked elements of the French and Spanish navies, defeating them. The fortress, along with the city of Vigo itself, were captured by British forces as part of the capture of Vigo and Pontevedra during the War of the Quadruple Alliance on 10 October 1719. In 1809, the fortress was occupied by the French Imperial Army during Peninsular War; on 28 March of that year, the fortress was reconquered by Spanish forces following an uprising by people of Vigo; as a result, the city was given the honorific title of "the faithful, loyal and courageous city of Vigo" the following year. Nowadays the fortress is one of the preferred sites for people to take a walk in Vigo, because his beautiful gardens, open spaces, fonts and also the privileged views.

Battle of Vigo Bay
Battle of Vigo Bay

The Battle of Vigo Bay, also known as the Battle of Rande (Galician: Batalla de Rande; Spanish: Batalla de Rande), was a naval engagement fought on 23 October 1702 during the opening years of the War of the Spanish Succession. The engagement followed an Anglo-Dutch attempt to capture the Spanish port of Cádiz in September in an effort to secure a naval base in the Iberian Peninsula. From this station the Allies had hoped to conduct operations in the western Mediterranean Sea, particularly against the French at Toulon. The amphibious assault, however, had proved a disaster, but as Admiral George Rooke retreated home in early October, he received news that the Spanish treasure fleet from America, laden with silver and merchandise, had entered Vigo Bay in northern Spain. Philips van Almonde convinced Rooke to attack the treasure ships, despite the lateness of the year and the fact that the vessels were protected by French ships-of-the-line. The French and Spanish fleet sought safety behind a boom with twin batteries. However, Allied marines captured the harbour defenses and defeated the boom. The main Anglo-Dutch fleet then attacked the outnumbered and immobilized French fleet. The French surrendered six ships-of-the-line, and others were destroyed.The engagement was an overwhelming naval success for the Allies: the entire French escort fleet, under the command of Château-Renault, together with the Spanish galleons and transports under Manuel de Velasco, had either been captured or destroyed. Yet because most of the treasure had been off-loaded before the attack, capturing the bulk of the silver cargo had eluded Rooke. Nevertheless, the victory was a welcome boost to Allied morale and had helped persuade the Portuguese King, Peter II, to abandon his earlier treaty with the French, and join the Grand Alliance.