Between the sea and the river Lima and lying below the hills of Santa Luzia, the city of Viana do Castelo, with its beautiful houses of different styles and narrow, winding streets, is both a fishing port and a tourist site.
Quite near, the riverside town of Ponte de Lima boasts of a fine roman bridge, a lively market and a neighbourhood of ancient and impressive rural mansions.
These can be seen across the district, from Monção, on the other side of the river Minho from Spain, and Valença, another border town with fortresses from the 17th and 18th centuries, to the tranquil towns of Ponte da Barca and Melgaço, a gateway to the Peneda-Gerês National Park.
Here, Nature did its best: about 700 square kilometers (270 square miles) of a wild and breath-taking scenery, from high peaks to wooded valleys, a wide variety of fauna and flora, remote villages and calm rivers where you can enjoy water sports.
Vila Nova de Cerveira offers, once every two years, an interesting arts festival, and all over the district, as is common in the North of Portugal, there are popular feasts and fairs and splendid little restaurants to explore the regional food.
You also shouldn’t leave Viana do Castelo without visiting the beautiful towns of Arcos de Valdevez, Caminha and Paredes de Coura.