This is my first TRAVEL blog post. If you have a bike and your plan is to spend two or three days in Braga, join the club! Having lived here for more than two years, I’d say these are the tips I would definitely give a friend for the best experience ever in the oldest – and fifth biggest – city in Portugal.
I’ll start off by listing some facts you might want to know:
- Braga is a city – concelho – and also a state – distrito. The city of Braga has a total area of 54km² and a population of 126 710 inhabitants.
- It was originally called Bracara Augusta, in honor of the Roman Emperor Cesar Augustus, and now it’s commonly referred to as the Portuguese Rome. Before its foundation, it was peopled by the celts, known as Brácaros. In the following centuries, it was built and organized around the Sé de Braga, where Archbishops spread the Christian religion and the Roman lifestyle.
- The Sé Cathedral was built in the 12th century by Henrique de Borgonha and Dona Teresa, parents of the first Portuguese King, D. Afonso I. Their tombs can be found in one of its chapels, the Capela dos Reis, built in 1374.
- It is still considered one of the biggest centers of religious study in the country. A visit to the Sé will show you a whole collection of works of sacred art, two 18th century pipe organs and the 30cm-high and 15cm-wide iron cross used to celebrate the first Mass in Brazil, in 1500. Braga comprises more than 15 churches, chapels and sanctuaries in its historic center only, which can be easily visited on foot.
- Braga is located within the Caminho Português de Santiago, which is a famous route followed by thousands of peregrines every year to the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, where Santiago Maior, apostle of Jesus Christ, was reputedly buried. Here, every now and then, you’re likely to find people of different nationalities and ages, sporting gym wear and equipped with travelling backpacks, walking those steps towards the north.
- The University of Minho plays a major role in the Minho Province. It is recognized for its high-quality education and its competence in scientific research, undergraduate and graduate courses. It has a campus located in Braga – Gualtar Campus – and two others in Guimarães – Azurém and Couros. It welcomes lots of international students every year who make their way throughout its 12 different schools and institutes.
- The Bom Jesus do Monte Sanctuary, one of Braga’s main tourist attractions, is considered a National Monument and a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It consists of a lift (one of the few funiculars today that uses a system of water balance), a baroque stairway, a church, a forest area and some hotels. Bom Jesus, as it is known, is the most impressive and symbolic sacri-monti built in Europe and it represents the Counter-Reformation period during the Council of Trent.
- Braga was the first Portuguese city to be awarded the title of European Youth Capital, in 2012, and it was the Portuguese winner city of the European City of Sport title in 2018. In 2019, it won second place in the ranking of the Best European Destination and it was, again, considered the best European Destination for 2021 in the competition promoted by the travel organization European Best Destinations.
Our tour starts at PRAÇA DA REPÚBLICA. This is where the New Year’s countdown and most of the Christmas decorations take place, among a lot of other events. When visiting the plaza, check out the IGREJA DA LAPA – dating back to the 1760s – between two famous cafés facing the beautiful water fountain.
Suggestion: If you are into charming bookshops like me, stopping by Livraria Centésima Página for a stroll and a coffee will make your day. If you haven’t found a warm, creamy, mouthwatering Lisbon-style Pastel de Nata in Braga yet, believe me, The World Needs Nata is the place to go. If you have a craving for chocolate and custard eclairs, muffins and Bolas de Berlim, turn left at Leitaria da Quinta do Paço.
Don’t rush, enjoy the sunshine and take nice pictures with the Avenida da Liberdade garden in the background. Located two blocks from the rental bike store Go by Bike, you can quickly walk to it and get a nice bike to ride.
Then, take Largo de São Francisco and go two blocks down. Turn left into Doutor Justino Cruz street to see my favorite square in town, the 17th century JARDIM DE SANTA BÁRBARA. There, you will find beautiful flower beds with an impressive stone palace behind. In spring or early summer, its flowers bloom in different colors in a geometrically designed garden. At the center, you can see a fountain with the statue of Santa Bárbara on top.
“Who was Saint Barbara?” you might be wondering.
She was the only daughter of a rich pagan man, called Dioscorus, who kept her locked up in a tower. Despite her solitude, Barbara rejected offers of marriage, which made her father realize that too many years in the tower were not doing her any good. So, he let her visit the city and, unaware, keep contact with Christians who taught her about Jesus and the Holy Trinity. In secrecy, Barbara was soon baptized by a foreign priest disguised as a merchant who returned to his country leaving her with a strong desire to devote her life to the Christian faith. Meanwhile, Dioscorus, wishing to please her, decided to build Barbara a private bath-house with two windows. He left for a long trip and, taking advantage of his absence, she ordered a third window to be built, representing the Trinity. The bath-house, then, became a place of miracles and its water had great healing power. When her father returned and noticed that Barbara had become a Christian, he got furious. He ran after her and, after beating her badly, denounced her to the prefect of the province who tortured and condemned her to death by beheading. It is said that her dark prison turned miraculously bright, her wounds healed every morning and the torch used to burn her went out every time it came near her skin. When being led naked throughout the city, an angel came and covered Barbara’s body with a wonderful robe. Her own father carried out the death sentence and, in punishment, was soon consumed by fire in a lightning strike.
Go back to our main route and ride along Praça Conde de Agrolongo, aka CAMPO DA VINHA This place had great cultural and historical importance, especially during the Revolution of Maria da Fonte, due to the presence of military barracks in the area. It was in this square that the Revolution of 28th May 1926 began, bringing to the country the National Dictatorship and the Estado Novo.
Turn left into R. Dom Frei Caetano Brandão and ride two blocks ahead. You will see the iconic ARCO DA PORTA NOVA on your right. It is said that the monument has never really had a door and if it meant to represent one then it was always wide open. This justifies the habit of welcoming neighbors into one’s home by never closing the doors or asking “És de Braga?” every time you see an open one. If you go across the arch and 500 meters down the street you can easily get to the train station.
Since we’re heading the opposite way, go along R. Dom Frei Caetano Brandão until Largo Paulo Arósio. To your right is the fire station BOMBEIROS VOLUNTÁRIOS DE BRAGA and to your left is the public library Biblioteca Lucio Craveiro da Silva. Go round the square and take R. do Alcaide. Be careful, this is a rather narrow street and it can be especially hard to ride among cars. (Another stop for a coffee? Go past Largo de Santiago and into R. do Anjo. Nórdico Coffee Shop will be on your left. If you don’t mind me saying, go for the banana and peanut butter pancake).
Go back to Largo de Santiago and through another door, into R. Dom Gonçalo Pereira, to NOSSA SENHORA DA TORRE chapel. Its medieval tower has a set of bells on top and an oratory at the base dedicated to thanking Nossa Senhora for sparing the town from the 1755 devastating earthquake.
It is common to find the next block closed for cars and illuminated all around. If this is the case, grab a bottle of Super Bock at Barhaus and chill as you make your way to our next stop, among the plethora of diners, bars and cafés. As you cross R. Dom Afonso Henriques, look around and keep that spot in mind in case you want to return later for an evening meal.
Continue straight on R. Dom Gonçalo Pereira until you find the SÉ DE BRAGA. The Sé was the first Portuguese Cathedral, built years before the founding of the country. It was consecrated by the bishop D. Pedro and dedicated to Virgem Maria on August 28th, 1089. It preserves the Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque styles, characteristic of the 11th, 15th and 18th centuries respectively. At the corner you will find the Tesouro-Museu da Sé de Braga, a museum distinguished by its invaluable collection of sacred works of art gathered throughout a one-thousand-year period.
Turn right into R. Dom Diogo de Sousa and continue along Largo do Paço and R. do Souto. The Casa das Bananas on your right is where hundreds of people meet right before Christmas supper to get into the festive spirit of December 24th evening. As tradition has it, Christmas celebrations must start with banana and Moscatel wine. If you plan to join in, however, I suggest buying your bottle a couple of weeks beforehand (you might not find it easily at the last minute) and bringing along bananas and shot glasses (it’s nearly impossible to fight your way inside the shop).
Go down R. Francisco Sanches and ride across LARGO SÃO JOÃO DO SOUTO. To your right is Hotel Dona Sofia, definitely a great place to stay: quiet, clean and comfortable rooms nicely situated downtown Braga for a reasonable price (my parents highly recommend the top floor, btw). Then, take Largo de Santa Cruz street and go ahead to my second favorite square in town: LARGO CARLOS AMARANTE.
Here you will find the white BRAGA sign next to an ornamental garden with a water fountain at the centre. Around, you can see the Santa Cruz church, from the 17th century, and the old São Marcos hospital, which is today the 4-star hotel Vila Galé Collection Braga. If you’ve been dating a person for some time now (or if you can’t wait to find your match), here’s a challenge: find two roosters on the façade of the church. That means you are getting married soon.
Hungry? Otsu Biru has amazing fresh Japanese food and fine beer. The restaurant is incredibly beautiful with a marble counter where all the dishes pass right in front of you so you can choose and grab yours. It’s not the cheapest restaurant in town, but considering quality and variety, it’s good value for money.
Getting back on track, go down R. de São Lázaro, past the wonderful PALÁCIO DO RAIO. Covered with blue tiles, it has three big welcoming doors which take you through a collection of machines and devices used in medical care at the Santa Casa da Misericórdia. It is one of the most outstanding works of Baroque civil architecture and it’s open today as an Interpretation Centre.
Turn left into R. do Raio and check out the Roman fountain FONTE DO ÍDOLO, thought to date from the 1st century A.D. It was built of granite and had a human figure carved in it as well as latin inscriptions decicated to Gallaecian and Lusitanian gods.
Turn right into Avenida da Liberdade and go all the way down until the second shop O Cheio Cheio.
After going past the second O Cheio Cheio, turn left into Rua dos Barbosas. Go straight on for another 190m, then turn left again into R. dos Galos. If you follow the bike lane ahead you will get to the charming PARQUE DESPORTIVO DA RODOVIA. Enjoy the ride along the narrow streets of Braga, between stone houses and short boundary walls. Feel the wind as it cools down your face and blows through your hair. It couldn’t get any better!
It will be a 3km ride until Meliá Braga Hotel & Spa, on Avenida dos Lusíadas. At this point, you can either make a U-turn and go back downtown OR (take a deep breath and) head for the BOM JESUS DO MONTE Sanctuary. The distance from the hotel to the funicular is 2km, about 20 minutes by bike.
The Sanctuary is a Roman Catholic pilgrimage site which has three distinguished Baroque stairways that lead to a prominent church overlooking the city of Braga. The stairways zig-zag to the top of a 116-meter-tall hill, along 580 steps and a number of landings decorated with symbolic fountains and allegoric statues. The three segments are called Escadório do Pórtico, Escadório dos Cinco Sentidos and Escadório das Virtudes. The second and most emblematic stairway has each one of the five senses represented by a different fountain.
When visiting the Bom Jesus do Monte, walk around the gardens and into the cave. Follow the path behind the church and find yourself a spot under the shadows of the trees next to the lake. You can also visit the stunning hotels nearby and chill out at the café. Make sure your phone battery isn’t completely discharged and that you still have space in your photo gallery.
So this is the end of our bike ride. But, fortunately, Braga has a lot more to offer! When writing your must-do list don’t leave out the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sameiro, the Monastery of São Martinho dos Tibães, the Miradouro do Pitoco and the São Frutuoso Chapel.
Hope you’ve enjoyed the journey and follow me on a few others soon to come. Continuação de um bom dia!
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