Vila Real

Near the majestic Serra do Marão, a mountain where it often snows in winter, Vila Real is a small but busy commercial city from where you can also start to explore the valley of the river Douro and trace the route of Port Wine.
Before, you can visit the village of Bisalhães, famous for its black pottery, or the splendid Solar de Mateus (manor house), with its baroque architecture and romantic gardens (the front of the manor is depicted on the labels of the Mateus wine).

To the south of Vila Real lie the wine estates where Port wine begins its life, in vineyards planted in terraces mostly along steep riverbanks. Early Autumn is the best time to make this tour. Most farms welcome visitors and you can watch the workers picking the grapes, often singing as they move along.

The main centre in this region is Peso da Régua, but you should not miss Sabrosa, with its 15th-century houses and vineyards set above the river Pinhão.
The district offers other fine qualities of wine, as is the case of Mesão Frio, surrounded by the imponent slopes of the Serra do Marão, and Murça, a market town also known for its honey, goat's cheese and sausages.

To the north of Vila Real the historic city of Chaves is the main centre. Lying in a fertile plain, its thermal waters have been famous since roman times. The town, which was founded in the 13th century, has notable landmarks, including a cathedral built in the Romanesque and Gothic styles, the former Dominican conventual church, and 17th-century houses near the main square.

Santa Barbara’s Church (Boticas)
Santa Barbara’s Church is based on the religious architecture concept and used to be the parish church. The biggest highlight is a wooden pelican that one can find in the sacristy. According the community of this region, the bird wounded its own breast to feed the baby birds with its blood. In this way, the pelican represented God that gave His blood to the people.

Little Stone Bridge (Boticas)
The medieval Little Stone Bridge is a Romantic one with five bows. According to the legend, when the Moor where building it, they only worked at night because they were afraid to get killed during the day. They kept on building the bridge only with small stones, and when they were almost finishing it they had to run away. For the bridge to be completed there was missing only one little stone, so it became the Little Stone Bridge.

Saviour’s Mother-Church (Ribeira de Pena)
This is the most expressive monument of Ribeira de Pena. Its highlights are the baroque elements of the façade and the high altar with the Divine Saviour and the S. Miguel Archangel images, among many other attractive.
This was the place where the writer Camilo Castelo Branco got married, when he was 16 years old.

Senra de Cima House/Palace (Ribeira de Pena)
This monument is an outstanding evidence of the civil architecture from the 18th century.
According to tradition, the carpenters and stone-cutters that took part in the Palace building, initiated a building school, that stayed on this region over the last two centuries.
This house is composed by a stoned balcony, with high decorative elements and connected to it there’s Our Lady of the Assumption Chapel.

Wire Bridge (Ribeira de Pena)
The Wire Bridge or the Pênsil Bridge crosses the Tâmega river, connecting Ribeira to Santo Aleixo d’Além Tâmega.
This is an element that fascinates who visits the district. Two steel cables support the bridge and its entrances were made in granite. It was built to serve the populations of both sides of the river and it was until 1963, when the modern bridge at the EN312 was built, the only crossing point for those people.

Bragadas’s Leisure Park (Ribeira de Pena)
This park is located on a wide forestal spot and offers the visitors a kinder garden, grillers, water, sanitary installations, tables and garbage collection. It’s ideal for groups and families.