Housed inside a former castle, and with splendid park grounds in its immediate surroundings, the Quiñones de León Museum is worth the short trip from central Vigo if only for its well-maintained French garden (some say, a miniature of the one in Versailles). The museum itself contains archaeological artefacts discovered in Vigo and surroundings.

Immerse yourself in the fascinating world of merchants during the Middle Ages and experience the rise and fall of the erstwhile trading power. European history will be brought to life in the new Hansemuseum and provide the perfect setting for the phenomenon of the Hanseatic League. Nobody could deny that the Hanseatic League played a key role in German and European history and is still present in many people's minds today. Half a millennium passed from its rise as a trading power until its fall. The European Hansemusem has been opened by Germany's federeal chancellor Angela Merkel and provides answers to many questions, such as how the Hanseatic League was able to survive over such a long period. Submerge yourself in the world and life during the era of the Hanseatic League and be a witness to oaths, diplomatic negotiations, piracy, trade boycotts, wars and the suffering during the great plague epidemic.

Further inland, in the southern part of the island, lie the so-called masticochoria (mastic villages). These well-preserved, fortified villages date from the 14th-16th centuries and were centres for the cultivation of mastic. Mastic is the sweet-tasting gum of the lentisk bush, which was exported all over the Mediterranean – and the area still produces around 300 tonnes of mastic every year. The most picturesque villages are Pyrgi, with its houses decorated in black and white geometric patterns called xysta Mesta, where towers and walls surround a baffling labyrinth of village streets as well as Olympoi and Vessa are all a worth a visit.