One of the common mistakes is using Betanzos only as a quick excursion from A Coruña. The city works much better as a base to explore a less-known part of Galicia.
A few kilometers away lies the Pazo de Mariñán, one of the province’s most elegant manorial estates, surrounded by French-style gardens and with open views over the estuary. It is also worth detouring to the small bodegas of the Protected Geographical Indication Vino de la Tierra de Betanzos, where local varieties such as the Branco Lexítimo survive, recovered after decades of neglect. Some small producers are making very interesting whites that are worth knowing.
Whoever seeks sea will find a coastline much rougher and less domesticated than the Rías Baixas. Praia de Miño or Praia da Magdalena serve as a few-hours escape without entering the mass circuit of parasols and tourist apartments.
And then there is A Coruña, less than half an hour away, perfect to end the trip with a good dinner at Terreo Cocina Casual or Bodega 1981, places that have long been showing all that the new Galician cuisine has to offer.
The most curious thing about Betanzos is that the tortilla ends up almost functioning as a narrative excuse. People come for it, try it, and take photos of that liquid interior that seems impossible. But what really hooks you is something else: a city that still maintains indifference to tourism trends. For now.
