Must-see attractions in Guimarães

  • Penha

    Guimarães

    Some 7km southeast up a twisting, cobbled road – or a short ride on an ageing cable car – is the wooded summit of Penha (617m) overlooking Guimarães, the…

  • Paço dos Duques de Bragança

    Guimarães

    Looming over the medieval city on Guimarães’ hilltop, with its crenellated towers and cylindrical brick chimneys, Paço dos Duques was first built in 1401…

  • Museu Arqueológico Martins Sarmento

    Guimarães

    This fantastic collection of mostly Celtiberian artefacts is housed in a former convent and named after the archaeologist who excavated Citânia de…

  • Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Oliveira

    Guimarães

    Founded by Countess Mumadona in the 12th century and rebuilt four centuries later, the beautiful Largo da Oliveira is dominated by this convent church.

  • Plataforma das Artes e Criatividade

    Guimarães

    For the 2012 European Capital of Culture, the old market square was revamped into a multipurpose cultural centre inside a shimmering three-floor metallic…

  • Castelo

    Guimarães

    Built in the 11th century and still in fine form, the seven-towered castle is thought to be the birthplace of the great man himself, Afonso Henriques…

  • Museu Alberto Sampaio

    Guimarães

    Built around the serene Romanesque cloister of Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Oliveira, this museum has an excellent collection of ecclesiastical art and…

  • Igreja de São Francisco

    Guimarães

    This 13th-century church has a brilliantly gilded and ornamented baroque interior, along with a lovely Renaissance cloister and 18th-century azulejos …

  • Antigos Paços do Concelho

    Guimarães

    Guimarães’ 14th-century former town hall sits above an arcaded portico providing a most graceful communication between cosy Largo da Oliveira and the more…

  • Igreja de São Gualter

    Guimarães

    This slender 18th-century construction, with its 19th-century twin spires and blooming run-up from central Guimarães, has the most striking appeal of all…

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