Guimaraes and Ponte de Lima--charming cities near Porto

Guimaraes Castle

After our day in the Douro Valley, we stayed in a charming old hotel in the heart of Amarante, just a mountain range away from the Douro.  The Casa de Calcada overlooks the river, main square and old church of Amarante.  It's a good location for touring the area.

Amarante's main square and church

About 45 minutes from Amarante is the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage city of Guimaraes, the place where Portugal was founded in the fifteenth century.  Like Porto, it must maintain the character of its buildings as they are and not destroy them with bulldozers or kitsch or modern facades.  Unlike Porto, Guimaraes' old buildings are mostly well-kept, even those that are abandoned, but are cared for by the local government.

restored home in Guimaraes

The Norman castle is the center of a Guimaraes visit.  It sits on a hill above the town and on a bed of granite meant to keep potential conquerors from tunneling under the fortress during a siege (which never happened here). The castle was primarily a fortress, which was fortunate for its potential occupants since the interior is small and the rooms set aside for the local lords were musty, small and right above the animals.  Nonetheless, if there had been an attack, the local populace could have found safety for a while at least inside the castle walls.

homes along Guimares' main square

If you visit Guimaraes, take the time to sit in a cafe in one of the 2 main squares to admire the beautiful old homes, most with colorful window boxes full of flowers (in spring and summer).  They have obviously kept the character of the original medieval town, given UNESCO's strictures, and that makes this town a popular tourist attraction.

You can walk or drive or take a cable car up the nearby mountain to visit a relatively modern church and, better, see the views of the city and surrounding mountains.  In the large plaza in front of the church, a photographer has set up camp with an old box camera and mobile printing shop so you can get a traditional black and white photo of yourself either in front of the church or on a little plastic horse.  Apparently, every child in this part of Portugal has at least one such photo.

Roman bridge--Ponte de Lima

Near Guimaraes is another pretty town with a long Roman bridge as its principle attraction, Ponte de Lima.  Parts of the original city wall remain.  Horsemen and women ride across the bridge and along the sandy shore of the Lima River while overly loud music blasts across the water from a former church on the far side.  Ignore that and you can enjoy yourself in one of the many cafes, walk across the bridge and along the river and feel a bit of the history of this ancient town.

Ponte de Lima church on bridge