Monumento a Julio Verne, Vigo, Guida per visitatori e cosa fare nei dintorni

The Monumento a Julio Verne in Vigo, Spain, honours the French novelist Jules Verne, who gave the city's estuary a place in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. It celebrates the link between a writer of great voyages and a port he first reached by chance.

The story behind it

In the novel, Captain Nemo steers the Nautilus into the Bay of Vigo, which has its own chapter, to recover treasure from the seabed. Verne described the bay before he had ever seen it.

He first came to Vigo in 1878, and it was an accident. His yacht, the Saint-Michel III, put into the estuary to shelter from a strong storm off the coast of Galicia. The boat was on its way to the Mediterranean. The writer who had sent Nemo to Vigo Bay found himself in the real place.

What to look for

• Look at how the monument portrays Verne himself, and think of the traveller and storyteller it is meant to honour.
• Keep the Vigo estuary in mind as you look around, because it is the water where Nemo's fictional treasure hunt takes place.
• Notice the boats and the working port life of the city, which explain why a storm-driven yacht could find shelter here.
• Check whether there is any plaque or inscription nearby, as these often tell you more about the link between Verne and Vigo.

Tips for your visit

• Plan on a short stop of 10 to 15 minutes, longer if you want to take photos or read about Verne's link to the city.
• Read the Bay of Vigo chapter of the novel beforehand, or just remember the Nautilus story, and the place becomes much more fun.
• Combine it with a wider walk through central Vigo and its waterfront rather than making a special trip for it alone.
• Daylight is best for photographs and for taking in the surroundings. If you need to know about access or any works in the area, check locally before you go.

See it on a quest

Discovering Vigo: a journey home is a good way to meet this monument. You reach it on foot as one stop of a longer route through the area, the app tells you about the place when you arrive, and you solve a puzzle based on what is in front of you. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group. You can start whenever suits you, with no guide and no group to join.