12 Best Sights in Northern Portugal, Portugal

Sitting high atop a wooded hill, this white granite-domed basilica is one of the most beautiful in Portugal. A funicular railway (€2, return ticket €3) can carry you up, or you can take the 2-km (1-mile) footpath that winds its way through the trees. The views from the basilica steps are magnificent, and a staircase to the side allows access to the very top of the dome (for €2) for some extraordinary coastal vistas.

Many people come to Braga specifically to see the Bom Jesus do Monte, a pilgrimage shrine atop a 1,312-foot-high, densely wooded hill 5 km (3 miles) east of the city. The stone staircase, a marvel of baroque art that was started in 1723, leads to an 18th-century church whose terrace commands wonderful views. Fountains placed at various resting places represent the five senses and the virtues, and small chapels display tableaux with life-size figures illustrating the Stations of the Cross. If you don't want to climb up the staircase, there's a funicular (€2.50 or €4 return) and buses from the center of town. The shrine offers several guided tours—including one that takes you to the church only and one that adds on the lake, gardens, and woods—but you have to book in advance by phone or email to  [email protected].

An exceptional baroque mansion believed to have been designed by Nicolau Nasoni (architect of Porto's dashing Clérigos Tower), the Casa de Mateus sits 4 km (2½ miles) east of Vila Real. Its U-shape facade—with high, decorated finials at each corner—is pictured on the Mateus Rosé label (though that is the full extent of the association, as the wine's producer is not based here). You may visit the house museum using an audio-guide, but if you take a guided tour (€26) you willl not only also take in the chapel, with its still more extravagant facade, but be free afterwards to explore the formal gardens, which are enhanced by a "tunnel" of cypress trees that shade the path. 

Within the walls of the Cidadela, you'll find the Castelo and the Domus Municipalis (Latin for "Municipal House"), a rare Romanesque civic building dating to the 12th century; it is always open. The nearby Igreja de Santa Maria, a church with Romanesque origins, has a superb 18th-century painted ceiling. A prehistoric granite boar, with a tall medieval stone pillory sprouting from its back, stands below the castle keep, or Torre de Menagem, which now houses the Museu Militar (€3). The latter displays armaments from the 12th century through World War I, but the structure itself is the main attraction, with its 108-foot-high Gothic tower, dungeons, drawbridge, turrets, battlements, and vertiginous outside staircase.

About 10 km (6 miles) northwest of Guimarães you'll find these fascinating remains of a citânia (hill settlement) founded before the Roman invasion. It dates to around 300 BC and was probably not abandoned until AD 300, making it one of the longest-lasting such strongholds, although its residents are now thought to have become gradually romanized. The walls and foundations of 150 huts and a meeting house have been excavated (two of the huts have been reconstructed to show their original size). The site was excavated in the late 19th century by Dr. Martins Sarmento; most of the finds were transferred to the museum in Guimarães that now bears his name but some can be seen in the smaller Museu da Cultura Castreja, housed in Sarmento's family home in the village of São Salvador de Briteiros, downhill from the Citânia. For guided visits to museum or site, phone or email  [email protected]. Local bus company Guimabus serves Briteiros several times daily from downtown Guimaraes, then it's less than 10 minutes on foot to the museum or a 2.5 km (1.5 mile) hike up to the Citânia.

The former monastery cloisters now house this municipal museum and its excellent collection of modern Portuguese art, including important works by locally born modernist painter Souza-Cardoso. He pursued variations of fauvism, cubism, futurism, and other avant-garde tendencies, in 1906 sharing an apartment with fellow painter Amedeo Modigliani in Paris. He returned to Portugal in 1914 and died four years later at the age of 31. The museum also has some interesting archaeological pieces---the star attractions are the diabos (devils), a pair of 19th-century carved wooden figures connected with ancient fertility rites. They were venerated on St. Bartholomew's Day (August 24), when the devil was thought to run loose. In 1870, the Archbishop of Braga ordered them burned because of their pagan function. The São Gonçalo friars didn't go that far, but they did emasculate the male diabo.

This striking museum was inaugurated a few years after UNESCO named the Alto Douro Wine Region a World Heritage Site in 2001, underscoring its importance in terms of cultural history and tourism. Housed in the former headquarters of Portugal's oldest wine company, the Real Companhia Velha, it also has a contemporary wing that hosts major exhibitions about the region, its history, and its leading figures. The ticket price includes a complimentary glass of port wine, but those with an appetite can stay for lunch or dinner in the restaurant and wine bar, which overlook the river. For a guided tour of the museum in English (€30 per group), book a couple of days in advance, by email to  [email protected] or phone.

Plans for an underground car park in front of the city's courthouse were canceled in 2006 when remains of the long-lost Roman baths, dating back to the 1st century AD, came to light—steam still rising from the hot spring. This free museum opened in 2021, to showcase an ancient therapeutic complex that is one of the largest unearthed in Europe, with two large pools and seven smaller ones, and a hydraulic system that still works today.

The 172,900-acre park, sitting on the border with Spain, was created in 1970 to preserve the region's diverse flora and fauna. It remains Portugal's only national park, and even a short trip shows you wild stretches framed by mountains, woods, and lakes. The park's headquarters is in Braga, but you can get a map of the more than 30 marked trails at any local tourism office.

One of the oldest wine estates in the region, Quinta do Vallado is on the right bank of the Rio Corgo, a tributary of the Douro, and has stunning views of terraced vineyards along both valleys. It has been in the Ferreira family since 1818 and encompasses 158 acres, some with vines more than 70 years old. There are usually at least three guided winery visits (from €35) in English a day—ending in a tasting with one white wine, three reds, and one port—but you must make a reservation. Like several other Douro quintas, Vallado has rooms for guests, both in the traditional 18th-century manor and in the sleek, modern 21st-century wing. Doubles cost about €300 per night in summer.

The town's most famous monument is the 18th-century Santuário de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, which has a marvelous granite staircase of 686 steps decorated with azulejo tiles. Landings along the way have statues and chapels. At the top, you can rest under chestnut trees and enjoy the views. During the Festas de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, the annual pilgrimage to the shrine, many penitents climb the steps on their knees. The main procession is September 8, but the festivities start at the end of August and include concerts, dancing, parades, a fair, and torchlight processions. Pilgrims use the stairs, but you can always reach the top by car.

One-hour tours of this quinta, which has a 100-year-old inn and two guest villas, start at 11 am and are limited to 24 people—during high season, reservations are essential. But if the 11 am tour is full, they'll arrange another at 11:30, depending on staff availability. After the tour, tastings are available. Custom tours and tastings can also be arranged, including tastings of a bevy of wine and port and a spread of charcuterie, cheese, almonds, and chocolate. A three-course lunch or dinner, including wines and ports, a tour, and tastings is excellent value. And, if you're lucky enough to visit during harvest season (September and October), you can try your hand (or feet) at treading your own vintage.