These are the best places to travel this summer

Viana do Castelo

Portugal Travel Guide

Shop

Get even more with a Lonely Planet guide.

Shop Book
Santa Luzia Church , Viana do Castelo, Portugal

Getty Images/AWL Images RM

LONELY PLANET’S RECOMMENDED eSIM

Stay connected in Viana do Castelo

with

Saily is an affordable eSIM service that helps you stay connected and secure, anywhere in the world.

Get your eSIM

Overview

The jewel of the Costa Verde, Viana do Castelo is blessed with an appealing medieval centre, an attractive riverfront and lovely beaches just outside the city. The old quarter showcases leafy 19th-century boulevards and narrow lanes crowded with Manueline manors and rococo palaces, all dramatically presided over by the pearly white, neo-Byzantine Santa Luzia church on the hilltop high above town. The town’s setting just by the Rio Lima estuary makes Viana a handy base for exploring the lower Lima valley.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Monte de Santa Luzia

    Monte de Santa Luzia

    Viana do Castelo

    There are two good reasons to visit Viana’s 228m eucalyptus-clad hill. One is the wondrous view down the coast and up the Lima valley. The other is the…

  • Praça da República

    Praça da República

    Viana do Castelo

    This fine hub of seven narrow laneways is at the heart of the old town’s zone of mansions and monuments. An especially elegant example is the Chafariz, a…

  • Gil Eannes

    Gil Eannes

    Viana do Castelo

    Demanding attention on the waterfront near Largo 5 de Outubro is a pioneering naval hospital ship, the Gil Eannes (zheel yan-ish). Now restored, the ship…

  • Templo do Sagrado Coração de Jesus

    Templo do Sagrado Coração de Jesus

    Viana do Castelo

    This fabulously over-the-top, 20th-century, neo-Byzantine church is one of two reasons to visit Viana’s 228m eucalyptus-clad hill. You can get a little…

  • Museu de Artes Decorativas

    Museu de Artes Decorativas

    Viana do Castelo

    The 18th-century Palacete Barbosa Maciel bears witness to Viana’s affluent past. It houses this impressive collection of 17th- and 18th-century ceramics …

  • Praia do Cabedelo

    Praia do Cabedelo

    Viana do Castelo

    This is one of the Minho’s best beaches: a 1km-long arc of blonde, powdery sand that folds into grassy dunes backed by a grove of wind-blown pines. It’s…

  • Fábrica do Chocolate

    Fábrica do Chocolate

    Viana do Castelo

    This small five-room museum devoted to chocolate is fun and interactive, treating you to tidbits of facts and curiosities, but it's also often packed with…

  • Castelo de São Tiago da Barra

    Castelo de São Tiago da Barra

    Viana do Castelo

    You can still scoot around the ramparts of this squat castle, a short walk west of the centre, which began in the 15th century as a smallish fort. It was…

Plan with a local

Get a book. Get inspired. Get exploring.

in partnership with getyourguide

Book popular activities in Viana do Castelo