Miragaia
A much-loved picnic spot of tripeiros, these tucked-away gardens stagger down the hillside in a series of lawn terraces. Find a shady spot under the trees…
Must-see attractions in The Douro & Trás-os-Montes
Miragaia
A guaranteed kid-pleaser – if slightly overpriced – this interactive museum catapults you back to the 14th to 16th centuries, when the Portuguese ruled…
Aliados & Bolhão
This gracefully baroque, early 18th-century, twin-towered church sits on the Praça da Batalha, stopping you dead in your tracks with its resplendent…
Miragaia
This new 5D cinema whisks you on a virtual flight over Porto, revealing angles never seen at ground level, with added special effects such as motion seats…
Trás-os-Montes
Small but interesting, this regional archaeological-ethnographic museum has lots of Roman artefacts, plus a collection of pre-Roman jewellery, bronze…
Miragaia
Set up above a narrow maze of stone stairs, this medieval church with magnificent views was built in 1539 on land that was originally part of Porto’s old…
Trás-os-Montes
This roadside pullout on the N221 highway 3km north of Escalhão is one of the park's most accessible viewpoints, with sweeping views of vineyard- and…
Trás-os-Montes
A road crawls across this 80m-high dam about 1km east of town, and on to Zamora, 55km away in Spain. Even dammed, the gorge is dramatic. You can take a…
Miragaia
This pleasantly leafy park is known simply as ‘Cordoaria’. Check out the four haunting sculptures by Spain's Juan Muñoz. The romantic, narrow lanes that…
Trás-os-Montes
Set in a wide, verdant valley some 1000m above sea level, somnolent Lamas de Ôlo is the park’s highest village, best known for its photogenic thatched…
Trás-os-Montes
Inside the right transept of this handsomely severe 16th-century cathedral, look for the doll-like Menino Jesus da Cartolinha, a Christ child in a…
Aliados & Bolhão
Nicolau Nasoni designed the Igreja dos Clérigos, with its theatrical facade and unusual, oval-shaped nave, resembling a Fabergé egg due to its dusky pink…
Massarelos
Housed in an antiquated switching-house, this museum is a tram-spotter's delight. It displays dozens of beautifully restored old trams – from early 1870s…
Foz do Douro
One of Foz do Douro's most visible icons, this lighthouse stands on an esplanade, bearing the full brunt of the swells and storms of the Atlantic. Take a…
Miradouro São João das Arribas
Trás-os-Montes
Just outside the village of Aldeia Nova, this viewpoint 8km northeast of Miranda do Douro sits adjacent to the clifftop chapel of São João das Arribas,…
Trás-os-Montes
Opposite the Presa de Castro dam, about 12km upstream from Miranda do Douro near the village of Paradela, the park's easternmost viewpoint is famous as…
Trás-os-Montes
The backstreets in Miranda's old town hide some dignified 15th-century facades. Some of the finest are along Rua da Costanilha, which runs west off Praça…
Trás-os-Montes
Westernmost of the Rio Douro viewpoints, Penedo Durão commands views down towards the Presa de Saucelle dam. It's about 56km south of Mogadouro and 51km…
Trás-os-Montes
The whitewashed chapel of Santo André das Arribas stands sentinel over the Rio Águeda gorge at this southernmost of the park viewpoints.
Alfândega Regia Museu da Construção Naval
The Douro
Shipbuilding has been in Vila do Conde’s bones since at least the 13th century. This museum on the Rio Ave's banks, just west of Praça da República, has…
Trás-os-Montes
Squatting at the rear of the Cidadela is an odd pentagonal building known as the Domus Municipalis, the oldest town hall in Portugal (although its precise…
Igreja Santa Maria de Almacave
The Douro
This unassuming little church is Lamego’s oldest surviving building, much of it dating back to the 12th century. It’s thought that after winning…
The Douro
It’s no accident that seafaring fingers, so deft at making nets, should also be good at lacemaking. Vila do Conde is one of the few places in Portugal…
The Douro
Religious art, antique furnishings, ceramics and early-20th-century contemporary art can be glimpsed at this museum, named after the distinguished local…
Boavista
A park at the centre of one of Porto's busiest roundabouts, the Jardim da Boavista provides shade and respite from the hustle and bustle of the city. Its…
Vila Nova de Gaia
In the quaint, alley-woven heart of Vila Nova da Gaia sits this whitewashed church. Built in the 14th century, it was given a baroque makeover in the 18th…
Trás-os-Montes
The stout Torre de Menagem now houses this lacklustre museum, but the price of admission is well worth the chance to climb storey after storey and take in…
Trás-os-Montes
Bragança’s modest old cathedral started out in 1545 as the Igreja de São João Baptista, but moved up the ranks to become a cathedral in 1770 when the…
The Douro
Archaeological finds from the Stone Age to the 18th century have been uncovered in the region around Freixo de Numão, 12km west of Vila Nova de Foz Côa. A…
Centro de Arte Contemporânea Graça Morais
Trás-os-Montes
This cross-border collaboration between Portugal and Spain has a permanent collection that features local painter Graça Morais’ haunting portraits of Trás…
Miragaia
As you amble down the hill, keep a look out on the right-hand side for the Rua São Miguel. On the corner, at No 4, you'll see a panel of 19th-century blue…
Ribeira
Once part of a Franciscan convent, this church hides an opulent interior behind its unassuming facade. Gothic in shape, with a fine Renaissance portal,…
Centro de Fotografia Georges Dussaud
Trás-os-Montes
This small museum is worth a visit just to see the evocative black-and-white photos of everyday transmontana people taken in the 1980s by French…
Trás-os-Montes
Romanesque in origin but rebuilt in the 17th century, this church may have played host to a chapter in Portugal’s favourite (and grisliest) love story…
The Douro
Climb the narrow, winding Rua do Castelo to this modest medieval castle, encircled by a clutch of ancient stone houses. Little remains here – just some…
The Douro
Peering down over the town centre and the Rio Ave, this imposing ex-monastery, founded in 1318, still has a severe-looking Gothic chapel, though the main…
The Douro
On the lower level of Vila do Conde's glass-box riverfront tourist office, this small museum offers up models, photo displays, old fishing gear and one…
Miragaia
One of Porto's handful of remaining public fountains, which were once a place to tap into fresh spring water and local gossip, the stone-carved,…
Trás-os-Montes
Northeast of the cathedral is the magnificently over-the-top baroque facade of this 17th-century chapel. Inside are fine, 18th-century azulejos (hand…
Museu Etnográfico de Vila Real
Trás-os-Montes
This small but colourful museum documents the traditional culture of the surrounding highlands, with exhibits on linen-making, ceramics, farming…
