Galicia by Anthea Gerrie

In fact many kinds of pastries and desserts are still being faithfully turned out according to centuries-old Sephardic recipes at La Tafona de Herminia, a bakery in the tiny town of Ribadavia which proudly identifies itself with a Magen David.

Ribadavia is a jewel in the crown of Galicia, a relatively undiscovered province of Spain in the extreme north-west corner of the country. Most famous for beautuful coastal scenery and surprisingly grand cities, Galicia keeps Ribadavia, which is somewhat off the beaten track, under its hat - though it does feature in an official brochure, The Routes of Sepharad, and the tourist office is thrilled to meet callers and talk them through the tiny heritage trail.

This includes the site of a synagogue used by residents who were primarily vineyard owners; Ribadavia is in the heart of Galicia’s wine country. Long disused, there is no interior to visit, but the little Plaza de Magdalena where the vintners once prayed, is a charming spot, and it is delightful to wander the surrounding lanes, where some of today’s residents have affixed stars of David as a sign of respect to the original occupants.

Ribadavia, which also has a small hotel, the Plaza on the main square, with a pleasant restaurant in which to enjoy an alfresco lunch, and a bridge affording a beautiful riverscape and view of the town, sits between Santiago de Compostela and Vigo, each of which could detail the visitor for a couple of days apiece.

Santiago made its name on the unlikely myth of the apostle James being ferried all the way from Jerusalem in a stone boat and buried nearby, to have his 9th century grave discovered by a religious hermit following a “compostella”, or guiding star. But although modern-day pilgrims do still make their way to the astonishing gothic pile of a cathedral named for St. James, aka Santiago, this is a university town,and predominantly a place of young people.

Franco Street is lined with restaurants, of which the buzziest and nicest is the Terraza de 42, a modern offshoot of the well-regarded Meson de 42 down the road, which seems rather gloomy by comparison, though they share the same menu, and the food, as in everywhere tried and tested in Galicia, is simply delicious. While the observant will have to eschew the seafood for which the region is famous, and the huge ribs of beef and veal, there is always sea-bass on the menu and a variety of other fine, fresh permitted fish.

It would be a shame to leave town without a wander round the colourful covered market in the old city, presided over by tough old matrons who have schlepped their cheeses, honey and vegetables from the countryside to sell, before leaving for Ribadavia en route to Vigo. This lively port is a different kettle of fish, so to speak, from Santiago, but equally delightful. More young people, more buzz, but a much more urban setting. This is a prosperous city where people seem to hang out from afternoon into the wee small hours; a drink on one of the many convivial plazas is recommended, followed by dinner at the crazy-busy Rias Baixas on the Rua Argentina, where more delicious fish - with and without chips - is on the menu. As everywhere in Galica, delicious local white wine is avalable from about £6 a bottle to wash it all down.

Vigo is also a great jumping-off point for the fishing vilages of the west Galician coast, of which Camarinas is a pleasant place to stop for a lunch of the freshestcatch imaginable. But some of the most dramatic scenery, characterised by beautiful forests which suddenly give way to coastal vistas, is on the northern coast. Here the lunch stop of choice is the elegant little beach town of Cedeira, and Betanzas and Pontedueme are also worth a stop and a stroll.

For these northern villages, La Coruna - which also has an international airport - is the best base. Named City of Glass for its thousands of multi-paned windows, this is a town of enormous sophistication and class. It has the Hesperia chain’s flagship five-star hotel, the Finisterre, which offers a really splendid breakfast and is a cut above the chain’s mid-range offerings in Santiago and Vigo.

Back in La Coruna, the big-deal square is the Plaza de Maria Pita, lined with restuarants housed in strangely identical greenhouses. It’s handsome enough by day, but a far more atmospheric place to eat is the buzzy Calle Franja leading off the square, where the Meson do Pulpo is well worth a longish wait for a table(there are no queues before 9.30pm, shockingly early for dinner by Spanish standards).

While flights serve London from both Vigo and La Coruna(and it makes no sense to backtrack), those with 7-10 days to spare can enjoy the most rewarding odyssey crossing the entire north coast from San Sebatian or Bilbao - known as “Green Spain”, enjoying what may be the most picturesque coastal motorway in the world.

Bilbao and San Sebastian are both real foodie towns, but the latter enjoys better access from the UK. It also has world-class galleries in Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim and the nearby Museum of Fine Arts, a lively Old Town packed with tapas bars(head for the award-winning Gatz), and a delightful river walk. A great hotel from which to enjoy the river on one side and a lovely park on the other is the glamorous Sheraton, which has a superb cutting-edge restaurant in Aizian. Next door, in the Convention Centre, is the equally fabulous Etxanobe, and heading out of town it would be well worth making a long lunchtime stop at Azurmendi, situated in a local winery at Larrabetzu, near the airport. All of these, the last two boasting a Michelin star, produce food to knock your socks off.

It’s possible to make Galicia from Bilbao with one overnight stop, most enjoyably in Santander, which metamorphoses astonishingly from never-ending port to glamorous fin de siecle resort without ever leaving the highway. Here there is both a magnificent grande dame wedding cake of a hotel, the art nouveau Real, to detain you with its endless lounges and hilltop terraces, and a destination restaurant, the Cenador de Amos, in an elegant palazzo in the hills at Villaverde, worth the half-hour drive from town.