We are staying two more full days in Porto following the RS tour in early May, and plan to take a day trip each day via train or bus to Aveiro, Viana do Castelo, Braga, or Guimaraes. One of the days will be to either coastal town. What are your thoughts on these four places and which might or might not be worth visiting after the tour itinerary? Thank you.
Posted by
Paris
7312 posts
I prefer Aveiro to Viana do Castelo (which does not have much in terms of highlights for me).
Do mind that Aveiro, while relatively coastal, is not by the beach.
As for Braga vs. Guimarães, I prefer Guimarães because it is smaller and thus more manageable as a day trip.
Posted by
92 posts
I’m going to Portugal later this month and am also having trouble figuring out where to go on day trips from Porto. I’m in Porto for 5 days and was worried about not having enough to do, but now I’m having the opposite problem in that I want to go to Coimbra and wine country and Braga and Guimaraes etc.
Posted by
199 posts
Among those four towns you mention, the only one I've seen is Guimarães, but I can recommend it strongly -- it's a fine little city with a beautiful historic center. It's usually treated as a day-trip destination, and I suppose that's better than not seeing the town at all, but at least one or two nights can easily be justified. (I think I spent four nights.) As of my Dec. 2017 visit (things may have changed because of Covid), there were more things to see than you might expect in a small town: three good museums, a castle, a furnished 15th-century manor house, several old churches, a cable-car ride to a park on a nearby hill, and of course the quaint medieval center itself. Assuming it's all still functioning as it was in 2017, the patio dining area of the Hotel Oliveira, overlooking the beautiful Largo (Plaza) da Oliveira, could be a memorable place for a dinner.
Posted by
USA
133 posts
Walking city is Braga for sure. Just beautiful! Aveiro is great for a canal boat ride. Viana do Castelo has a pleasant town center and beautiful coast nearby. Guimaraes is also a beautiful historic area to take a stroll.
Posted by
374 posts
Hi
Coastal town Aveiro for sure. Take a ride on the Moliceiro boats ( they're motorized gondolas) on the canals, visit the fields where they harvest sea salt, eat their famous Ovos Moles ( egg sweet). Not on the beach though.
Braga or Guimaraes, tough call.
Braga has Bom Jesus, Sameiro, Cathedral a pedestrian only area downtown.
Guimaraes has the Castle, Duques palace ( it's very old and not decorated like modern palaces) churches.
I prefer Braga.
Braga is also the first/last stop of the Alfa train which can be accessed in Porto at Campanha station.
Happy travels
Posted by
Spokane
34 posts
I'm in Braga now and its marvelous! I drove to Guimaraes which is very close to Braga and its also very nice. I'd give a smaller edge to Braga as its walkable town center is a little flatter and nicer but you wouldn't go wrong choosing Guimaraes either. Both can be done in a day, Braga if you have more time, Guimaraes is less.
I have not been to Aveiro as of yet but I did drive to Ponte de Lima and then over to Viana do Castelo and I prefer Ponte de Lima over VdC. I went in thinking VdC would be magical and left a little underwhelmed. The harbor is a bit industrial and I left wanting.