We are looking for recommendations for great experiences north of Porto, lodging and restaurants. We have four days and a car. Also interested in the national park. Our trip is scheduled for May.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
8289 posts
Braga and Guimaraes are frequently mentioned although I have not been to either.
If you wanted to drive into Spain then the Celtic ruins at Castro de Santa Trega are worth visiting. They are up on a hill that affords greats views of the area. There is a nominal entry fee. Forty minutes up the coast is Baiona. It’s worth walking around and spending a night.
Two hours northeast of Porto is Castle Bragança. Just across the border into Spain the Puebla de Sanabria. It is small, but has a very nice historic center, a small castle, and a couple old chapels. It too is worth a night.
On our 2023 trip we stayed at the Paradors in Tui, Baiona, and Puebla de Sanabria when we were in that area.
Posted by
Cascais, Portugal
1999 posts
I liked both Braga and Guimarães. With a car, you could also see Ponte de Lima and Bragança. This is Vinho Verde country and the landscapes are very nice. There is lots of history and there are fewer tourists. I have stayed in both of the bigger cities and think I prefer Braga. But, Guimarães is also quite nice. Bom Jesus, outside of Braga is lovely, too.
I stayed in Airbnb type places, so don’t have hotel recommendations.
Posted by
206 posts
While in Porto we took a side trip to Guimaraes. Overall our impression was meh. My family always loves a walled city but we felt after our visit here we could have spent the time better visiting another location as there's so much to see in do in Portugal.
We took the train from Porto to Guimaraes and walked from the train through the town visited some shops and the castle. When we returned to the train station to catch our scheduled train back to Porto we learned there was no train. There was a strike going on at the time and since we left that morning our return train was cancelled. It was several hours before another train arrived. We had already seen and done all we could find to do in the town (not a lot) so just waited at the train station. Obviously, with a car you won't have the potential for this issue. I think if you are really set on the seeing the town I would not plan for more than a morning or afternoon at most to see all there is.
Posted by
9721 posts
We did a day tour from Porto to Santiago de Compostela (in Spain). It was worth the trip for sure.