GandCT

After a two-week stay in Sintra in late May we will be spending three or four nights in the Viana do Castelo area before going on into northern Spain. Would love to hear any and all suggestions on what not to miss seeing, what restaurants or dishes are &quot;musts&quot;, and anything else that comes to mind. We do plan to visit the Barcelos market on Thursday, and are also thinking of visiting Bom Jesus and the Citania de Breteiros. We are in our 60's, in good health, and are enjoying learning about the history and culture of the country. It will be our first visit to Portugal, and we are really looking forward to it. Thanks for any help you can give us.<BR>Best regards,<BR>Carol

Maribel

Hi Carol,<BR>Since you have our notes on Viana, I'd just mention an excursion we took on a previous Galicia-Minho trip:<BR>We crossed the Minho on the little rickety '60's style car ferry from the Galician side at Salvaterra (one of the Albari&ntilde;o wine towns, home of the Fillaboa vineyards) to Moncao. While we could have swum it in under 2 min., and now there's a bridge. we wanted to go back 40 yrs. in time and drive down the <BR>N 202 along the lush, almost jungle like river valley. We passed women dressed in black with sickle in hand, labouring in the fields and the barrosos (oxen) grazing by the side of the road. Our destination was a small, modest inn, just a pensao, in a park setting, high atop Monte do Faro, 5 km east of Valencia do Minho, where we had a blissfully serene dinner on the terrace and spent the night. We could have stayed in far greater comfort at the Pousada Sao Teotoniao inside the ramparts at Valenca do Minho, but this was a true adventure, far off the beaten tourist path. From our blissfully quiet perch at Monte do Faro we had truly spectacular views of the entire river valley the next morning. On a very clear day you can see as far as Pontevedra. This would make a nice drive for you from Viana.<BR><BR>I was to do a hiking trip in the Minho with Camino Tours that was later cancelled, but on our itinerary were 2 nights with a dashing count at his 18th c. solar (manor house), &quot;Paco de Calheiros&quot;, using it as a base to walk in the Peneda-Geres National Park, Portugal's first protected area, billed as &quot;wild and dramatic&quot;. We were also to visit the village of Lindoso (13th c castle). <BR>Travel Holiday magazine ran an interesting article, &quot;The Count Requests Your Presence&quot; about said count and his TURIHAB association of gorgeous manor homes cum B&amp;B's in the Ponte de Lima area, which is on the Portuguese Camino de Santiago. I'm sorry I missed out on this experience, plus Ponte de Lima's Monday market. From your base at Viana you could visit for dinner. On some nights there is a performance by a local folkloric dance troup from the village. (dinner served at 8, by reservation only at <BR>[email protected] or call 258 9 71 64)<BR><BR>The dishes we've enjoyed in the Minho are the caldo verde (a galega green cabbage and potato soup with chourico), alheiras (bread stuffed sausages), the churrasco do porco (grilled pork) and rojoes cominho (pork with cumin), the ubiquitous bacalhau (oven baked cod in tomato sauce, carrots, onions and garlic), the broa (dark cornmeal bread), all washed down with a nice bottle of Alvarinho or vinho verde, plus one of the famous sweets (egg yolk and sugar based) from the village of Esposende. I'm not so fond of another local specialty, lampreia, a type of eel-definitely an acquired taste. <BR><BR>Hope you have a wonderful time!

bobthenavigator

Maribel, Would you believe we spent 2 nites at Pacos de Calheiros in 1997. The Count left that evening for a meeting of his new marketing group to promote the manor houses.The weather was horrible and he had a fairly serious car wreck on his way home. The phone rang at about 2:00 and my wife was convinced it had to be for her--it is always for her ! The teenage son finally answered it and we went back to sleep. The Count returned the next morning, but the Volvo was a mess. We will never forget that experience.

Cameron

I highly recommend the pousada in Viana do Castelo. We stayed there for a week about three years ago and did day trips to the surrounding towns on market days. From our room, #111, we had a view of the cathedral, the town, the river and the Atlantic ocean!! Fantastic! Perhaps you already know that there are senior rates at all the pousadas. My favorite little town is Caminha, north of Viana.<BR><BR>We've been to Portugal three times, mainly in the north, and we love it. Enjoy!

xxxx

We thoroughly enjoyed Bom Jesus do Monte. We also planned to go to Citania de Briteiros--but couldn't find it! I don't know what happened: we had directions, we verified the directions before we left our hotel, we were on the right road and were watching for signs...but never saw one. Before we knew it, we were into the next town. As we had other sites on our agenda, we decided not to go back and look for it. Hope you have better luck. P.S. The only sign I ever did see for Citania de Briteiros was at at roundabout in Braga.

GandCT

Thanks Maribel, Bob, Cameron, and xxxx. Your suggestions will certainly add to the enjoyment of our trip!<BR>Best regards,<BR>Carol

bobthenavigator

The Pousada at Viana is a MUST !

davidx

I'll send you my notes with some URLS if you e-mail me [mention N Portugal.]<BR> [email protected]

NEDSIRELAND

For history &amp; culture you might try to arrange a daytrip to Guimaraes (sp?) known as the birthplace of Portugal. If you are into Celtic artifacts there's a museum there. You'll find ample opportunity for exploration there or, at Monte Santa Tecla (La Guardia) when you cross over into Pontevedra (Spain). There's a well preserved 4th Century B.C. Castrenho village there.

cmt

I have the impression that it would not be realistic to plan to travel in the Minho without a car. If I'm wrong, and if you had a good experience traveling there by public transportation, please let me know.