Guimaraes

Guimaraes is a small, ancient town located 50 km from Porto. Has a sagnificant importance for Portugal, as there on June 24, 1128 Afonso Henriques won a battle and proclaimed the independence of Portugal from the Kingdom of León.

The city is a popular tourist destination. Some even manage to visit Guimaraes and Braga in one day.


The city center is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is small and you can get around in an hour. The biggest interest are the houses of XV-XIX centuries that show the traditional Portuguese architecture.








In addition to the historical center, the city has a beautiful park with a palace and a castle.

The Ducal Palace was built in the early XV century. It's interesting feature is the 39 high chimneys. For several centuries it was abandoned and openen to the public as a museum in 1959, after 20 years of restoration work.








Castle from 2007 is one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. That is not surprising, since it was founded in the year 959 and hence is one of the oldest in Europe. The castle is very small and very simple: a central tower surrounded by walls. National monument since 1881!






Guimaraes also has a cable car leading to the Pehna mountain. It's location can be seen in the following map.


Getting there: By train (http://www.cp.pt) or bus from Porto. Train is the best choice, as it's cheaper and more convenient. Bus from the Porto airport (http://www.getbus.eu). Buses in Guimarães - http://www.arriva.pt/horarios.