Between the terraces of the pretty Douro Valley and the popular city of Porto stands Guimarães, the first capital of Portugal. Learn the country’s history as you explore the medieval castle walls and wander between the narrow streets of the Old Town. More history can be found in the nearby historic cities of Amarante & Bragança. With restored castles and palaces to explore and unique cakes to sample, a trip to visit Guimarães, Amarante & Bragança should be on your Portugal itinerary.
Guimarães
Referred to as the Cradle of the Nation, Guimarães is the site where Portugal took its first steps to become an independent country. King Afonso Henriques I was born in Guimarães Castle. As a young adult he fought against his mother to become leader of Portugal, which was a vassal of León (Spain) at the time. In the ensuing years more battles took place in and near the capital city of Guimarães between Afonso Henriques I and his cousin, King Alfonso VII of León. It seems Afonso was a popular name at the time.
After winning these skirmishes, Prince Afonso Henriques I secured a path to Portugal’s independence. He went on to capture more land for Portugal and in 1139 was crowned the first king of Portugal in Lamego and the capital was moved to Coimbra. The Kingdom of León finally recognized him as king 4 years later. You can read about Lamego in our post A Driving Tour Through Portugal’s Douro Valley.
Castle of Guimarães
Standing proudly on a hilltop above the city of Guimarães is the city’s medieval castle. It is not covered in ornamentation like a fairytale castle, instead it has a distinctly utilitarian look. In fact, with its tall imposing walls, crenelated top and square towers, it just may be the dictionary definition of an early Middle Ages castle.
The outer walls of this UNESCO World Heritage Site are still proudly standing on the hilltop and you are able to walk along them to get a view of the surrounding land. There’s no need to worry about falling off as these castle walls are very thick. There’s almost a full sized sidewalk on top.
Other than the wall, the interior of the castle is almost empty. Unfortunately, the Keep, or centre tower, is closed to visitors.
Although there’s not much inside, the castle has a prominent spot in the country’s history. Construction of the castle began mid 10th century to protect Guimarães Monastery of St. Mary from the Moors. Since then, it played an important role in Afonso Henriques I’s struggles for independence since some of the historic battles took place just outside its walls.
Palace of the Dukes of Bragança
Immediately beside the castle is Palace of the Dukes of Bragança. Unlike most palaces, this one looks more like a castle than a royal palace. Dozens of tall chimneys give the palace an even more unusual look.
Even inside there are very few decorations on the walls, ceilings and floors. Only tapestries, basic furniture and vases add colour. The most interesting parts of the palace are the courtyard and the recessed door to the palace chapel.
The title Duke of Bragança was created in the 15th century for the heir to the Portuguese throne. The palace was built around the same time and served as the duke’s home until the 1500s when the official residence was moved away from Guimarães. The palace was abandoned and suffered from decay up until the 1900s. Restoration work took place over several years until it was finally opened as a museum in 1959. Another interesting piece of history is that just before Brazil’s independence from Portugal, the Duke of Bragança acted as emperor of Brazil.
Tip – If you intend to visit both the palace and the castle it is cheaper to buy a combined tickets for both.
Old Town Guimarães
Below the castle and palace is a small Old Town that is considered one of the most intact medieval towns in Europe. This UNESCO World Heritage site has only 3 or 4 streets, but each is lined by well restored heritage buildings. Like many of these medieval towns, the buildings’ front doors open up right onto the street. Today the streets are for pedestrian traffic only so it’s pleasant to take your time and enjoy the town.
The narrow lanes open up into squares that today are filled with patios called esplanades. The chairs were filled with friends meeting up for lunch or coffee, and enjoying the casual atmosphere in the town.
In Oliveira Square, the main building is Church of Our Lady of The Olive Tree (Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Oliveira). In 950 AD this site was the location of Guimarães Monastery of St. Mary; the monastery that required protection from Guimarães Castle. That building was heavily damaged and was rebuilt in the 14th century.
In front of the church is a cross under a large stone arch that is related to a couple of different versions of a 14th century legend. One of them says that after the cross was placed next to a dead olive tree, new limbs immediately sprouted from the tree and it came back to life. Oliveira translates in English to Olive Tree so this legend led to the name of the church and the square. A new olive tree was planted near by in the 1980s.
The church has been an important pilgrimage site since the Middle Ages. That history can be seen on the streets where you can find five of the remaining medieval Chapels of the Stations of the Cross.
When reading about Portugal, we often saw images of colourful festivals throughout the country. Finally, in Guimarães we got a glimpse of these fun events. The procession of Nossa Senhora de Agonia (Our Lady of Agony) followed a colourfully decorated path on the street while carrying a picture of the Virgin Mary. Although we weren’t there for the main celebration, it was nice to see a little of this festival in person.
We thought we would only visit the castle and palace and didn’t expect to find such a cute city. Even the streets outside of the medieval area were pretty. In the end we spent a lot more time in Guimarães than we intended.
Amarante
Set on the banks of Tâmega River, Amarante is only 50 km from Guimarães and has a few of its own historical sites to see. Its most famous, and most picturesque, is São Gonçalo Bridge (Ponte de São Gonçalo). The bridge is said to have helped the locals defend the town from French attackers in the early 1800s. Today, it allows pedestrians to cross the Tâmega River, but its main draw is the view of it reflecting off the river.
On one side of the bridge is the 17th century São Gonçalo Church (Igreja de São Gonçalo). Its highly ornate front entrance is decorated with statues and columns. We loved the Baroque elements such as the busts on the tops of the columns. Inside the church, our favourite piece was the decorative organ with fantastical sculptures.
Poking behind this church is São Domingos Church (Igreja de São Domingos). It has a small circular nave that is used today as a religious art museum. Both churches make a pretty scene as they reflect off the flat river. In fact you can find many scenic reflections along the river.
On the other side of the river are a couple of are narrow streets with old three story buildings whose patios look out onto the water. At street level the buildings are modernized with glass storefronts, but from the river they still look quite authentic.
St. Gonçalo Cakes
Quite possibly one of the strangest foods we had in our time in Portugal are St. Gonçalo Cakes (Bolos de São Gonçalo). These phallic shaped cakes seem out of place in this conservative town, but almost every patisserie in town has them. The tradition behind this cake is equally odd. They are gifted to single women by a man wanting to start a romantic relationship. The other funny part is that if she hasn’t received one, a woman can buy a cake for herself. It is said the cakes are like an offering from the town’s beloved saint, São Gonçalo, and receiving one will grant you fertility and fidelity from the man of your affection.
No one really knows how the tradition is linked to the 13th century priest, so it may be more associated with local pre-Christian practices. As often happens when converting local pagans to Christianity, their traditions are linked to a saint, making it an acceptable Christian tradition.
Even though we’re already married, Richard bought me a cake which we nibbled on between giggles. We had the same type of pasty in a few towns in the area and each has their own shape. It is basically a pastry with custard filling. It’s not bad, but not something we need to have again.
Vinho Verde
Both Guimarães and Amarante are set in the Vinho Verde (Green Wine) region. Since we had sampled port in Gaia, we thought we should sample this wine in Amarante. The wine is actually not green and the name should be translated to young wine. It has a light taste with a hint of citrus and a bit of fizz so is similar to sparkling wine or champagne. It was nice, but not our usual preference.
Amarante is a nice city with a pretty river and is worth a stop if you’re in the area, but probably not a destination on its own.
Bragança
Located in the far northeast corner of Portugal is the less often visited city of Bragança. As we drove toward the city, the grape vines that had covered the landscape up to then had changed to olive trees.
Established to protect Portugal’s northeast border with Spain, Bragança is a historically important, but rarely visited Portuguese city. It has been inhabited by many of the civilizations that passed through this region but since the 12th century it has been firmly controlled by the Portuguese.
Bragança Citadel
Just before reaching the city we had a bird’s-eye view of the castle from Citadel Viewpoint (Miradouro do Cidadela). Below us was the perfect fortified village, with a fully intact wall surrounding the castle, a few homes and a church.
Walking toward the main gates of the citadel, we had the sense that we were about to see a great medieval village. As we have often found in medieval fortified villages, there was not one, but two gates protecting the homes inside.
Once through these gates we found a wonderful medieval village with white-washed buildings on lanes so tight they were barely a shoulder’s width apart. Many of these homes are now used as souvenir shops, wine bars and boutique hotels. There is also a museum to display the masks that are used in winter festivals. Seeing some of them made us think it would be fun to return to see this festival.
The cobblestone lanes lead up to Bragança Castle on top of the hill. The first castle was built here in the 12th century, but what we see today is mostly from the 15th. It has been completely restored recently so that we can appreciate the tall walls with its turrets and towers. You can walk on a few sections of the wall, but unlike Guimarães Castle, the walkway is narrow and has no safety rails so you have to watch your step.
One of the towers is called Princess Tower where a young princess was sent to live because of her love for a gallant, but poor man. According to the legend, he knew he wasn’t worthy of her so he left town to build his own fortune. He vowed to return as soon as he was wealthy and then they would marry. She waited 10 long years and he did not return. After refusing to marry anyone else, after 10 years her uncle sent her to live in the tower for the rest of her life.
The castle’s tallest structure is the 33 m (110 ft) high Keep, called Torre de Menagem. The Keep was used by the Portuguese military until the 20th century and today it is used as a Military Museum. The rooms inside display knight’s armour, swords and other military equipment used from the Middle Ages up to WWI.
In front of the castle is the unusual looking 12th century Domus Municipalis. The octagonal shaped stone building is beside the church and served as a medieval city hall as well as cistern.
Old Town Bragança
The other old town of Bragança is much younger than the medieval village and is located in the middle of the modern city. Most of the buildings in the historic centre are from the 16-17th centuries, making it a nice area to explore.
In the centre is Old Cathedral of Bragança (Antiga Sé de Bragança). From the square in front of the cathedral you can see the castle high above. A few streets away is the pretty old São Vicente Church (Igreja de São Vicente) with a memorial to Portuguese soldiers killed in France and Africa.
We added Bragança into our itinerary at the last minute and really enjoyed the city and its castle. It is a worthwhile stop in your Portuguese travels.
How To Get to Guimarães
Located between Douro Valley and Braga, the easiest way to reach the city is by car. Put it as a stop as you drive between them, or visit on a day trip from either Braga or Porto.
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To read more of our adventures in Portugal, click here.
Coming Next – Visit Bom Jesus & Other Sites In Braga
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