This is the remains of an Iron Age hill fort. It is nice to wander around. There're 2…read morereconstructed houses but take their look with a pinch of salt. There is no information onsite except at the bathhouse and, at the start of the visit, general information on grain cultivation. That said, the pamphlet you get with your ticket has quite a lot of information. Entrance is only €3. For €5 you get entrance to the Cultura Castreja museum in Briteiros and the Archaeological Museum at Guimarães. There are more items from this site at the latter (I went to the latter and it was quite disappointing though); the former has some items but also stuff about Martins Sarmento, who worked on this site.

This place is extremely beautiful and has a lot of history and arts within the walls. I took a very…read moreshort and brief tour here. Our tour guide was fantastic. My favorite part was the indoor rooms with the large rug like murals on the wall. It was a beautiful work of art.

This is a medieval estate and former residence of the first duke of Braganza! It was originated…read morebetween 1420 and 1422! The property has some Romanesque architectural features! The residence was occupied by Alfonso (Count Of Barcelona) future Duke of Braganza! Titles and properties eventually passed to Fernando II! The property is easy to navigate and you have the option to listen to an audio guided tour as well! The are many rooms to visit! It is best to make time so you can really get a comprehensive understanding of this property!

Great sanctuary, but it feels like there should be more things to do attached with the sculpture…read more The poor soul that has to work the ticket office and offer discounts to an area that could probably use as many funds as possible to maintain the place has the tireless job to sit in a small office all day long. My tour guide has me watch a very informative video about the partially preserved sanctuary. s I'm not huge on art, history, and archaeology, I'm not opposed to it. I'm also in a new country at the time and wanted to try to appreciate what was being shown to me. I was already overwhelmed with information and this was only the 2nd day of my Porto area trip. I had guessed it was a less attended site because of the size of its location. One could probably spend hours if they went through every little facet and 'excruciating' detail of the video that was available. The history of this place being a beautiful fountain amongst beautiful artwork is what makes this place the beautiful, less attended landmark that it is. I did have to look it up to remember what I saw. Thank you Internet!

This is a beautiful, local gem. It could be a beautiful place for additional development for…read morethings to do. I was here mainly because it was unique and it was very personal to the person I was with. You can view historical homes that were around centuries ago, and there is a view of a chapel and picnic areas around this park as well. It took a team of people 6-9 months to dig out these huts and create the park atmosphere into what it is today. It was really nice to get to know some of the work he forged through to create the beauty that he has for history and humankind within Northern Portugal.

Our tour only stopped here for 20 minutes after a long bathroom break - too few booths (two for…read morewomen and one for men) with too many of us, on a rainy afternoon. We missed ton!

Last year when we visited Guimaraes it was a holiday and the castle was closed…read more You have to purchase tickets on line- barcode available at the entrance. Staff check your online tickets and you're allowed in. When my husband was younger, he indicated he was actually able to walk in the castle. The staff stated about 3 years ago, stairs and trail were built to conserve the castle. Great views from the top of the castle. There are huge boulders on the grounds and as part of the castle itself. Street parking.

Don't judge the church by its cover…read more Igreja de Santa Clara in Porto is a true hidden gem with one of the most stunning golden church interiors. We stood in awe by the altarpiece as we soaked in every detail of the gilded woodcarvings from floor-to-ceiling. Porto is a city of many churches and this one represents a pinnacle of Portugal's Golden Age in the 18th century with colonial wealth largely funnelled from Brazil. The entrance is modest with a small Renaissance portal inside a quiet courtyard. The €5 entrance fee is steep to only view the nave & the upper choir but we were blessed with calm reflection away from the bustle of the city. The dazzling Baroque interior is without empty space rather hosting expressive side altars for the worship of Christian figures and a central altar with a painting depicting Santa Clara's miracle in expelling Moorish invaders from this convent. The best viewpoint of the nave is from the upper floor upper choir where nuns traditionally attended mass. Staff were very kind to insist that we climb upstairs as we were about to exit the church just so that we could take in this excellent bird's eye view. Rich decor above the choir seats also contains rare church chinoiserie ornament influenced by Portugal's maritime past. Skip it or hit it? This church off the beaten path is well worth a 45 minute visit.

Portugal has been a very religious country throughout its history (less so now according to my tour…read moremanager). During their ultra-wealthy days from colonialism with gold and gems flooding in from Brazil and Angola, ultra-fancy churches in the scale of compounds, sanctuaries, and more were built. Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga is such an example. The present sanctuary started construction in 1722. Other than the Baroque church at the top, one set of zigzag shaped stairways are dedicated to the Five Senses each represented by a fountain and one set of stairways is dedicated to the Three Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope and Charity, each with its fountain. Chapels on either side of these staircases have sculptures dedicated to the Passion of Christ. In addition, they have a huge garden, a shop, historical items, a funicular (called elevator) and much more. See their website for more than what my photos can convey. https://bomjesus.pt/?lang=en We visited on a day of pouring rain, and it was still fantastic. They have different winter vs summer schedules for every location. Best to check their website here: https://bomjesus.pt/informations/?lang=en The location is about one hour drive from Porto. It is a great day trip from Porto. Be sure to visit Braga, the historical center also.

This place was amazing, the architecture and gardens were so beautifully kept up…read more Of course the history is awesome, you wonder what it would have felt to be alive when it was built.

The visit to this cathedral was a little disjointed. Usually the sights in a cathedral (or indeed…read moremost churches) are joined up, but here they were all over - many chapels were not accessed from the interior of the church, the Baroque choir on the second floor was not accessible from the main part of cathedral but instead up some stairs and the museum was in a separate wing. That said, most of the visit was guided so all I had to do was to follow my guide around (except for the main part of the church and the museum, where I could wander alone). The visit was also flexible - though I opted to see everything, I could've paid for and done the Cathedral, the chapels/Baroque choir and the museum separately. In any event, there was quite a lot to see, as you'd expect of a thousand year old cathedral. The painted wood ceilings were quite unusual. There were also the painted tiles that are common in Portugal. The bodies of the parents of the first King of Portugal were missing but their tombs were in the chapel with the mummified bishop Lourenco Vicente. The museum wing was very modern and I saw a lot for 5 euros. It was a pretty good collection too. They even had 2 Roman capitals and a Paleochristian sarcophagus as well as a 1004-1008 AD coffer (cofre de marfim). The only downside was that photography in the museum was not allowed.