Guimarães — RachiePie

We arrived to the Douro Valley on Friday evening and have been enjoying this region. It is mostly known for the vineyards that line the hillsides and make for very beautiful views. On Sunday, we decided to drive an hour to Guimarães. The city is often referred to as the "birth place of Portugal" when King Afonso Henriques chose this former Roman city to be the administrative capital of the Portuguese kingdom.

We started at the Guimaraes Castle, built in the 10th century to protect the village against invaders. It is now classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Near the castle is Paço dos Duques de Bragança (the Palace of the Dukes of Bragança). Built in the early 15th century, it later fell into disrepair, before being turned into a military barracks in 1807.

We also walked over to Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Consolacao e Santos Passos. This church was built in the 18th century and one of the prettiest baroque churches in Portugal. Sitting at the end of a long formal garden, it looks like something out of a picture book.

I also enjoyed just walking around the town. It had such beautiful buildings with bright colors and pretty tiles.

After wandering around Guimarães, we drove to Penha Hill which overlooks the town and is the highest point for miles. On the hill is the Penha Sanctuary, a monument opened in 1947.

Our last stop of the day had us driving about 30 minutes northwest of Guimarães to the Citânia de Briteiros. Here we found the remains of a Celtic hill settlement dating to around 300BC!

We stopped for lunch in Guimarães at a cute little sandwich shop, Pregaria of Guimarães. I have to say both Alex and I needed a break from traditional Portuguese food and this hit the spot!