Minho Region - Barcelos or Viana do Castelo for a week in Nov?
 

We will be in Portugal's Minho region during the second week of Nov and want to stay in one town and do day trips (we will have a car). My research indicates Barcelos and Viana do Castelo may be good choices. Would appreciate any input on these towns including sights and hotels that you have enjoyed. Thanks much!

Betty, I have posted info on Viana Do Castelo as we had a fantastic time there last May. You may do a search (quite recent post)or e-mail me directly and will gladly share with you some notes on Viana.

Betty Ann, No question, stay at Viana. <BR>The Pousada Santa Luiza is perfect--on the hill above town with a fabulous <BR>vista. It may be rainy then--they do not <BR>call this area " Costa Verde" for nothing. You will love exploring this <BR>region--this is real old world ambiance. <BR>The market at Barcelos[Thursday?] is the <BR>most authentic we have seen in our 15 <BR>trips to Europe. Also hit Ponte Lima and <BR>Braga. I hope the weather is good.

Betty, BOB THE NAV was one of the people I listened to while planning my last trip to Spain/Portugal. So glad I did. All his tips were right on the money. <BR>The Parador Santa Luzia is located in top of a hill overlooking the ocean, next to some roman ruins. Beautiful. Room 305 was selected as having one of the most beautiful views ("Room with a View") by Conde Nast Magazine (about $115/double). <BR> <BR>Check out this website: <BR>http://www.contactovisual.pt/casadaveiga/en.html

Maria, Bob, Thank you both very much for all the great info. Couple of quick questions. Will we need to drive from the pousada to Viana town center - I seem to remember reading about a funicular that goes up/down the mountain. Would staying in town be more convenient? Thanks again!

Yes, there is a funicular that is about <BR>200 meters away from the hotel that can <BR>take you down near the rail station in <BR>town, but the drive is only about 5 minutes. There is nothing in town that <BR>compares to the Pousada-an easy choice.

Betty Ann; the room at the Pousada Santa Luzia with the best views is Room 302 (I mistated the number as 305 on my previous post). Check out the view at http://travel.epicurious.com/travel/...rope/0393.html <BR> <BR>Do mot miss Sintra, a beautiful medieval village within an 1 1/2 of Viana.

Bob, Maria, Thanks for your responses to my additional questions. I have contacted the pousada for a reservation. Maria, I had seen the Room with a View web site earlier. Looks great! BTW, you must be a fast driver. According to my map, Sintra is about 250 miles from Viana do Castelo. I don't think I could drive it in an hour and a half! Thanks again.

Betty Ann, My husband warned me I had the towns mixed up (I hate it when he is right...). This leads to a word of warning regarding local drivers; they are daring. Just stay out of their way and you'll be fine.

Betty, reservation at Pousada do Catelo has been made in your name after our conversation <BR>I would like to know if you are still interested <BR>Please respond <BR>Thank you--Victor

Bob and Maria, We have reservations at the pousada in Viana in Oct. We are worried about getting there by train from Lisbon via Porto. Are connections easy? We thought about cancelling our reservation in Viana but after reading your glowing comments we have decided that we CAN get there. (don't want to drive!) Any ideas on the train connections. We are looking at the train schedules on CP.PT and it looks doable. Thanks, Grace

Another option to make it from either Lisbon or Porto to Viana is by bus. Check out the following site for phone numbers and bus itinerary: <BR> <BR>http://www.contactovisual.pt/viana/VCmain1.html <BR> <BR>I will keep looking in case I find some more info. <BR> <BR>Viana is a wonderful seaside town. I am so jealous!

Hi Betty Ann! It's Amy with the same last name ;) We've talked before about Portugal and I see that you're heading back our way again! GREAT! Listen, Viana do Castelo is my hands down choice. I was just there three weeks ago and stayed 3 days at a Turismo de Habitaçao right in the historic center of town. It's called Casa Dos Costa Barros, Rua de S. Pedro, 22-28, Tel: 351-58-823705/24383, Fax:351-58-2438/828137. It's located in a old family home(16th century) and they have 10 rooms. I thought it was a fabulous location if you would like to walk to most of the sights. We took the tram up to Sta. Luzia one day and another day we drove up. By the way, the tram only goes to the church just below the pousada but it's just a short walk up to the pousada from the church. My choice for day trips from Viana are Ponte Lima, Ponte da Barca, Caminha/Vila Nova de Cerveira. Wonderful, scenic smaller towns. <BR>Have a great trip and feel free to write if you have further questions. P.S. Next trip to Portugal, you must pass through Abrantes ;) <BR>P.S.S. There is another wonderful turismo de habitaçao on the outskirts of Viana called Quinta de Boa Viagem (Good voyage). The house used to belongs to my husband's family and is actually still owned by some distant cousins. We visited it and will stay there on our next trip. I believe they do have a website.

Hi Amy, <BR> <BR>These threads seem to have lives of their own, don't they? I posted the original question in Sept 99 before our Nov 99 trip, which was wonderful, as we've discussed in our emails. <BR> <BR>Grace brought the thread to life again in Aug '00 and she and I have corresponded about their reluctance to drive. I hope they do travel by car as it is so easy and Viana and surrounding small towns should NOT be missed. BTW, I wore a pair of shoes today that I bought in Caminha! My favorite town in Portugal! <BR> <BR>Muito obrigada, Amy, for making our last trip to Portugal so wonderful. I wouldn't be surprised if we return in Nov '01. We are off to Scotland next Tues for two weeks. Please note new email address. Would love to hear from you.

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A small correction to Amy Walker's post. Telephone/fax numbers in Viana area are +351 258 xxx xxx (one 2 is missing in the original post) <BR>Joao