Wanderlust Travel Magazine (UK)
Don’t miss...
Outdoors Dom Luís I Bridge
Stroll across the top level of the double-decker bridge, from near the Cathedral in Porto’s city centre, across the Douro to Vila Nova de Gaia.
Designed by a student of Gustave Eiffel, the bridge clearly shares structural DNA with Paris’s
Eiffel Tower. The real treat is sweeping views up and down the Douro and over the twin cities.
Citânia de Briteiros
As if Guimarães was not already sated with history, 15km north of the city is a vast archaeological site of the last Celtiberian stronghold before the Roman invasions in
AD3. Excavations are continuing over a whole hillside, and there is an evocative museum. www.visitportugal.com/en/node/128531
Barcelos Market
The biggest open-air market in Portugal – some say in Europe – erupts in this Minho town east of Braga, from dawn every Thursday. It’s a hubbub of trading with truckfuls of livestock, blaring music, acres of cloth and ceramic stalls, sizzling barbecues and earthenware jugs of rough locally-grown wine. https://wanderingportugal.com/articles/9/ barcelos-market
Soajo
High above the River Lima in the Penedagerês National Park, Soajo is renowned for its extraordinary cluster of espigueiros – granite granaries raised on stilts. From the village, climb up to their sensational standing place on a high rock above the village. https://www.visitportugal.com/en/nr/ EXERES/46D46BBC-510B-4F93-B59D2DB1E5980704
Indoors World of Wine
Housed mainly in converted Vila Nova de
Gaia port lodges and cellars, this huge winefocused complex of immersive museums and restaurants is already famed for its port lodges.
True to its name, it is an oenophile’s dream and makes up an entire city quarter. www.wow.pt
Castelo de Guimarães
The seven-towered castle crowning a craggy hill is the birthplace of the Kingdom of Portugal and the country’s former capital. Climb the ancient staircase for a bird’s-eye view of the area. www.visitportugal.com/en/content/guimaraes
Sé de Braga
The ‘Rome of Portugal’ is best known for having 80 churches, but the Sé (Cathedral) is the truly unmissable one. The foundations are 12th century, to which Gothic, Renaissance, gleaming gilt Baroque and Manueline styles somehow come together in harmony. https://se-braga.pt/
Solar de Mateus
The façade of this over-the-top Rococo palace near Vila Real is famous for being on the label of Mateus Rosé, while the rooms inside are similarly fantastical. www.casademateus.com
Claus Porto
Founded in 1887, Claus Porto is one of the oldest extant perfumeries in the world with iconic scents and vintage-style labels that give its highend products a unique visual style. Take part in an immersive experience at the global flagship store on R. das Flores 22, and create your very own products, while learning the secrets of fragrance mixology and how to use 100-year-old soap-making-equipment. www.clausporto.com