Braga Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Because of one-way and pedestrian-only streets, driving in central Braga is difficult and parking maddening. There is a large, paying lot under Praça da República. You might also try side streets east of Avenida da Liberdade.

Land

Bus

Braga has a centralised bus station that serves as a major regional hub. Within the Minho, Transdev Norte/Arriva (253 209 401) has at least eight buses per day to Viana do Castelo (€3.60, 1½ hours), Barcelos (€2, one hour), Guimarães (€2.50, 50 minutes), and Porto (€4, one hour), plus four per day to Campo do Gerês (€3, 1½ hours). Service drops by half at weekends.

Rede Expressos (253 209 401) has a service to Viseu (€10.60, three hours) and on to Lisbon (€14.50, 4½ hours).

Empresa Hoteleira do Gerês (253 262 033) also serves Rio Caldo (€3.30, 1¼ hours) and Campo do Gerês (€3.50, 1½ hours) about hourly during the week and six times Saturday and Sunday.

Car & motorcycle

Braga has a branch of the Automóvel Club de Portugal (ACP; 253 217 051; Avenida Conde Dom Henrique 72), and AVIC (253 270 302; Rua Gabriel Pereira de Castro; 9am-6pm Mon-Fri) is an agent for several car-rental companies.

The A3/IP1 motorway makes Braga an easy day trip from Porto. However, the N101 from Braga to Guimarães is more congested and poorly signposted.

Train

Braga is at the end of a branch line from Nine and also within Porto’s suburbano network, which means commuter trains travel every hour or so from Porto (€1.95, about one hour); don’t waste €12.50 on an intercidade (IC) train. Useful IC links include Coimbra (€15.50, two hours, two to three daily) and Lisbon (€26, four hours, two to three daily).

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