Viana do Castelo

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Santa Luzia Church , Viana do Castelo, Portugal

Getty Images/AWL Images RM

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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…