Guimarães, Braga & Barcelos Tour
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From $94.66
2 reviews (5.00)
Price varies by group size
Lowest Price GuaranteePricing Info: Per Person
Duration:
Departs: portugal, portugal
TicketType: Mobile or paper ticket accepted
Free cancellation
Overview
You will start you northern Portugal adventure discovering the medieval centre of Guimarães. You will see why the historical center city -the birthplace of the nation- was warranted as UNESCO World Heritage.
Besides the ancient center city you will also visit the castle that accommodated the Counts of Portugal during the 10th and 11th century and the 15th century Palace of the ´Duques de Braganza`.
In Braga, you will find a religious city with more than 2000 years of history. You will visit Portugal’s oldest cathedral, the famous sanctuary and ancient attractions such as the 14th-century Castle of Braga and the ´Arco da Porto Nova´.
After lunch we will drive to Barcelos, where we will walk around in the historic center, famous for its colorful ceramics, medieval monuments and for creating Portugal’s national symbol - the rooster.
On Thursdays you can get involved in one of the oldest and biggest markets in Portugal.
What's Included
Bottled water and softdrinks
Driver/guide
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Snacks (Candybars)
Transport by private vehicle
What's Not Included
Entrance fees, unless specified
Food and drinks, unless specified
Lunch
Traveler Information
- ADULT: Age: 12 - 99
Additional Info
- A minimum of 2 people per booking is required
- Face masks required for travellers in public areas
- Hand sanitiser available to travellers and staff
- Minimum age is 12 years
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Regularly sanitised high-traffic areas
- Temperature checks for travellers upon arrival
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- A maximum of 6 people per booking
- Face masks required for guides in public areas
- Guides required to regularly wash hands
- May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
- Paid stay-at-home policy for staff with symptoms
- Regular temperature checks for staff
- Social distancing enforced throughout experience
- Transportation vehicles regularly sanitised
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
What To Expect
Largo da Oliveira
The square is surrounded by some 17th century traditional ´Porch Houses´ and the ´Nossa Senhora da Oliveira´ Church.
In the middle of the square there is a porch called "Padrão do Salado".The porch referes to the succesfull battle of Salado in the 14th century.
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Praca de S. Tiago
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Centro Historico de Guimaraes
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Paco dos Duques de Braganca
We will also visit the museum on the first floor of the palace with a collection of national and international antiques.
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Igreja de Sao Miguel do Castelo
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Torre de Menagem
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Praca da Republica
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Rua do Souto
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
Torre do Cimo da Vila
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Museu Arqueologico de Barcelos
There are also some other interesting artifacts found all over the city.
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Ponte Medieval de Barcelos
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Igreja Matriz da Paroquia de Santa Maria Maior
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Reviews
Other than the market, Barcelos is a fairly sleepy town, feels pretty "local" and off the beaten path, though it is famous for the legend of the "Rooster of Barcelos" which has become a symbol across all of Portugal.
From there, we headed to Braga, which has something like 26 churches -- and we got to take a look at probably a dozen of them over the course of the day, including the impressive Cathedral which was a major seat of Catholic power in the area... in addition to the nearby Bom Jesus, which is beautifully located up a mountain at the end of a long-stretching staircase (although unfortunately they are doing renovations inside the church right now... but the exterior views are the star of the show, anyway.)
Finally, we made our way to Guimaraes, the "birthplace" of Portugal since this is where the first king, Alfonso Henriques was born, and where he battled his mother to declare independence from Spain (long story. The guides will tell it to you!) There is a castle here, but we walked past it and spent time touring the more grandiose Dukes manor nearby. The town itself is also pleasant to walk through -- quaint and medieval in its layout, but still a fairly large city.
After all of this, we were quite satisfied but, even though the tour was technically done, José was nice enough to show us a few more sights... he had time, so he extended the tour to do a little detour down the coastal region, seeing the beach towns and fisherman villages, such as Vila Nova do Conde, with a historical Portuguese sailing ship and a couple more interesting churches.
Oh, I forgot to mention... this is billed as a "small group tour" which would have been fine, but it ended up being a private tour for just the two of us! Even better!
We went on a tour of Barcelos, Braga, and Guimaraes with José and his companion Evangeline ? and it was a great day. They picked us up right outside our place in central Porto in the morning, and then we headed to the street market in Barcelos which runs on Thursdays... we didn't buy anything, but it was fun to experience...
Other than the market, Barcelos is a fairly sleepy town, feels pretty local and off the beaten path, though it is famous for the legend of the Rooster of Barcelos which has become a symbol across all of Portugal.
From there, we headed to Braga, which has something like 26 churches -- and we got to take a look at probably a dozen of them over the course of the day, including the impressive Cathedral which was a major seat of Catholic power in the area... in addition to the nearby Bom Jesus, which is beautifully located up a mountain at the end of a long-stretching staircase although unfortunately they are doing renovations inside the church right now... but the exterior views are the star of the show, anyway.
Finally, we made our way to Guimaraes, the birthplace of Portugal since this is where the first king, Alfonso Henriques was born, and where he battled his mother to declare independence from Spain long story. The guides will tell it to you! There is a castle here, but we walked past it and spent time touring the more grandiose Dukes manor nearby. The town itself is also pleasant to walk through -- quaint and medieval in its layout, but still a fairly large city.
After all of this, we were quite satisfied but, even though the tour was technically done, José was nice enough to show us a few more sights... he had time, so he extended the tour to do a little detour down the coastal region, seeing the beach towns and fisherman villages, such as Vila Nova do Conde, with a historical Portuguese sailing ship and a couple more interesting churches.
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