Anadia – 2 Nights

Suggestions for visits and activities:

• Visit the woods, gardens and palace of Bussaco, one symbol of the Portuguese architecture of the XIX century.
• Visit Coimbra, and discover some ancient traditions of this city, with strong student traditions. Don’t miss a visit the first Portuguese university and its library. The Convent of Santa Clara, the Sé of Coimbra is also good reasons to visit this city.
• Visit to Aveiro named the Portuguese Venice and discover this city on a tour on a traditional boat “Moliceiro”. In Aveiro you must try a symbol of Portuguese deserts: the “Ovos Moles”
• On this region you must try one symbol of Portuguese gastronomy: the “LeitãoAssado” (Roasted piglet), and the best company for this delicious dish is the famous Bairrada wines.

Lamego – 2 nights

Suggestions for visits and activities:

• Around Casa de Santo António de Britiande you can discover the great concentration of CisterMonsateries (Sec. XII), likeMonastery of Salzedas, São João da Tarouca, Ferreirim. Visit also the medieval bridge and tower of Ucanha (a Medievel historical village). The house is located between two of the most important wine regions: the Douro (Port Wine) and the Tavora/Varosa (sparkling wines). Between Ucanha and Salzedas you must visit the “Casas de Murganheira” (Cellars with more than 1 million bottles of Murganheira).
• Visit Lamego, this ancient city, hidden in the mountains, represents two periods of time. Moors and Christians fought ferocious battles over it. However, in 1057, Fernando Magno, great grandfather to the first king of Portugal, definitively took it for Christianity. This era survives in the tall castle tower, where on foggy days the soul of a Moorish princess is said to return to weep. Outside, walk up the steep streets where houses emerge out of the medieval walls. In Lamego you must visit the Museum with a great collection of the Portuguese painter “Grão Vasco”.
• Sample the traditional flavours of the Douro region’s cuisine and wines. And finish it all off with one of its sumptuous desserts. The cuisine of the Douro region is one of the most varied in Portugal. On the coast the fish and shellfish are complemented by the region’s quality white wines. Inland, the meats, cooked in a variety of ways, are succulent and tender. Wet your appetite with port served in its freshest fashion: the ‘Portonic’. Then begin with ‘caldoverde’ soup, the most popular in Portugal. From Chaves and Lamego come the smoked sausages.

On the travel for Ponte de Lima you must do 2 stops. The 1^st is in Guimarães to enjoy the great historical center (UNESCO World Heritage) and Castle of the 1^st Portuguese main city (capital). After Guimarães visit Braga and discover the several churches in the centre. Don’t forget to visit the Sé and its great museum. Don’t leave Braga without a visit to “Bom Jesus” and enjoy one of the most important constructions of baroque architecture in Portugal.

Ponte de Lima – 2 Nights

Suggestions for visits and activities:

• Visit the medieval center of Ponte de Lima and cross the roman bridge until the International Garden Festival. Also visit the Rural Museum and the Museu dos Terceiros an important collection of Sacred Art.
• Explore the Minho region and discover the unique Vinho Verde wine. A light and refreshing wine, Vinho Verde is found nowhere else in the world. It goes well with fish and shellfish and is perfect on a hot day. The region of Minho is in northern Portugal. The grape vines climb trellises on the hilly terrain near fields scattered with traditional espigueiros (grain stores). Granite mansions and historical buildings rise out of the green countryside and are well worth visiting.Start on the coast, in Caminha and Vila Nova de Cerveira. On the banks of the River Minho, you’ll find the pretty town of Valença. Further north, the towns of Monção and Melgaço are the main producers of one of the most famous types of VinhoVerde, Alvarinho. Not far away is the Peneda-Gerês National Park, with mountain villages full of history, like Castro Laboreiro and Soajo.Arcos de Valdevez, Ponte da Barca and Ponte de Lima owe their names to the rivers that make them attractive and cool, like Viana do Castelo, at the mouth of the River Lima. Visit Barcelos, on the River Cávado, and Braga, with its traditional regional heritage.And why not take a trip to the ancient town of Guimarães, a World Heritage site, then see the sights at Amarante, another historic riverside town? Don’t leave withoutvisiting the region’s most well known estates, equally famous for their stately homes as the quality of their wines.
• The rich lands of the green north boast a strong gastronomic heritage. Enjoy some fine dining in the Minho. Caldo Verde soup – a mix of shredded cabbage, potato, garlic, onion and olive oil – is the great contribution of the Minho to national cuisine. Either as a starter or as a light meal (particularly in the early hours of the morning), try a bowl served with slices of good smoked ‘chouriço’ sausage or ‘salpicão’ jerky and corn bread. This is the land of Vinho Verde. Unique to Portugal, it is a fresh, slightly sparkling wine ideal as an aperitif. When it comes to fish, dishes based on lamprey and shad rival the cod, ‘bacalhau’, for the place of honour on the Minho’s dining table. That said however, in many ways ‘bacalhau’ grabs the limelight with recipes such as ‘à Gil Eanes’ now rightly famous. Trout ‘à minhota’ with smoked ham is another must. As for meat, a much-loved dish is ‘sarrabulho’, which begins its cooking process as boiled pig’s blood before blending with rice and much more. There are also the crackling pork ‘rojões’ and leg of pork à Clara Penha. These standard bearers all come to the fore at Christmas, the traditional time for slaughtering pigs. And make room for the local version of the ‘cozido’ meat stew; ‘Serra’ or Hill goat; and the ‘Cabra Nova’ young goat ‘caldeirada’ potato stew, traditional to Gerês.