Praça da República

This fine hub of seven narrow laneways is at the heart of the old town’s zone of mansions and monuments. An especially elegant example is the Chafariz, a Renaissance fountain built in 1554. The fountain is topped with Manueline motifs of an armillary sphere and the cross of the Order of Christ. The fortress-like Antigos Paços do Concelho is the old town hall – a 16th-century creation that sometimes hosts contemporary art exhibitions.