| Duration: | 8 Hour(s) - 0 Minute(s) |
| Tour Category: | Full Day Tours |
Minho Tour – Guimarães & Porto – Full Day – 8 hours
Guimarães is known as the "cradle of the nation" because it was the first capital of Portugal. It has a well-preserved old town and a profusion of historic monuments and art treasures.
The historic town has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to the examples of architecture ranging from the 15th to the 19th centuries. Most of the tourist sights are within a demarcated tourist zone that stretches from Guimarães Castle in the north on the hill and then south in a cluster of cobbled streets and squares.
Town life revolves around the Praça Toural, lined with shops, houses, and banks, and the beginning of the town's main shopping street, the Rua de S. António, but tourists tend to be drawn more towards the picturesque old town, with its imposing granite houses. Many have wrought iron balconies, smothered with flowers and the finest are to be found in the Rua de Santa Maria. The big draw of the city tends to be up on the hill where Guimarães Castle and the Palace of the Dukes of Bragança stand. The seven-towered castle has a fantastic strategic viewpoint overlooking Guimarães and the hilly, terraced countryside around. After this visit, return to Porto.
Drive to Porto City Hall where we will start our walking tour to the narrow streets of Porto. Continuing to Torre dos Clérigos, Lello Bookshop (considered one of the most beautiful in the world), Rua das Flores (Some visitors consider this the most romantic street in Porto), Palácio da Bolsa, S. Francis Church, originally this was a Gothic church. Its adjacent museum once was the property of a Franciscan monastery.
This church boasts the most lavish, spectacular church interior in Porto and the competition is fierce.
The “Casa do Infante” where Henry the Navigator who launched Portugal during the Age of Discovery, reputedly was born this house, Factory House of the British Association (This is the headquarters of the Port Wine Shippers' Association. One of the most fabled buildings in the Ribeira district. British consul John Whitehead designed the "factory" in 1786), Cais da Ribeira, the quayside section of the Ribeira district opens onto the Douro. Locals come here for the low-cost tascas (taverns) and seafood restaurants, which were constructed into the street-level arcade of the old buildings. Time to prove a chalice of Port wine with a stunning view of Douro River.
After this break, we will proceed with our visit through Rua de Dom Hugo, with the Chapel of Our Lady of Truths. It's invariably closed, but you can peek through the grille at the gilded rococo altar, with a statue of the Virgin at the center. Terreiro da Sé, this square is dominated by the cathedral, founded as a fortress church in the 12th century and greatly altered in the 1600s and 1700s. Square-domed towers flank the main facade. "Cathedral Square" is also bordered by an 18th-century former Episcopal palace, now municipal offices.
Continue to São Bento Train Station. This is the most central of Porto's railway stations. Its grand main hall is decorated with large tiles tracing the history of transportation in Portugal. After this visit, you will be guided to the Cellars of Taylors and Sandman where you will visit the cellars and taste the Porto wine. At the end of the visits, return to the hotel.
