Guimarães

Guimarães is a city in Minho, northern Portugal. One of the country's most historical cities, it's known as the "Cradle of Portugal" since it was from there the "Condado Portucalense" grew into today's Portugal. The historical centre has a medieval castle and a royal palace open to visitors. It is a.

Understand




Guimarães (gee-muh-RUHNEESH, /gi.mɐ.ˈɾɐ̃jʃ/) was the European Capital of Culture in 2012. Its castle has been classified as one of the New Portuguese Seven Wonders. The first king, D. Afonso Henriques (aka Afonso I of Portugal), is still idolized by the city. About from Porto, Guimarães is near Penha, a mountain with wonderful views over the city.

By plane
The easiest way to go to Guimarães by plane is to fly to Francisco Sa Caneiro airport in Porto then, catch a train or a bus to Guimarães. By bus it's about one hour from Oporto to Guimarães and almost one and a half hours by train.

From the Porto Airport, you can catch the following transport to Guimarães.

By train/metro
Board the Metro Porto at the Airport Metro station and go to the Campanhã or São Bento railway stations in Porto, from there you will get a train to Guimarães (1 hr 15 min, about €5).

Bus transfer
There are direct [http://www.getbus.eu inter-city bus connections between Guimarães and Porto Airport everyday (50 min, €7.50 one-way, €12 return).

By táxi
The taxi rank is on the ground level in the street next to Porto's Airport main entrance and exit doors (40 min, about €60).

By train
Train is the cheapest and the best way to arrive in Guimarães. The Portuguese Railways Company CP is the service provider. Travelling from Lisbon there are trains, but not many directly going to Guimarães. The trip from Lisbon lasts four hours or longer. From Porto (Oporto), there's a train every hour.

Travelling by train from Europe, on InterRail, for example, one always goes to Porto (Oporto) first, and there change to the Guimarães train. This trip offers the best of both worlds by being the cheapest and taking one along a line full of very scenic landscapes through villages and rural areas of Minho.

By car
Guimarães is well served by the national road network system, from Braga, Porto, Felgueiras, Chaves, and others. If you are traveling from the south of Portugal it's not difficult. The Portuguese highways are well connected and to reach Guimarães, one needs to go via Porto (Oporto), when near Porto (Oporto) start looking out for the A7 Autostrada (Highway A7) signage which leads to Guimarães. It's quite easy.

By bus
Rede Expressos is a national bus company and a nice option to get to Guimarães. With this company one can travel to almost every major city in Portugal.

If you travel from cities near Guimarães, like Braga or Porto for example, one may have to ask someone (a very common thing in Portugal) where is the bus terminus to Guimarães. A good strategy is to look for bus terminus near railway stations, since transport hubs are near each other (you can do this in cities within about 50 km). The bus may make many stops along the trip, but it's a way to get to know the northern part of Portugal better.

Get around
In Guimarães, there is a sightseeing bus that travels through the city centre. But being a small city centre, you probably will want to also walk around to get the feeling of the small old streets and enjoy what the historical center of this medieval city has to offer. If you normally like to purchase a multi trip ticket to travel in bigger cities, in Guimarães, being a small city, it's not worth it. But if you want to travel by bus, the ticket prices are about €1.25.

To go to Penha Mountain, the easy option to go up is on the cable car - Teleférico da Penha -. If you want to stroll through the mountain it's very safe. If you decide to walk up the mountain, the roads are alright but it will take about 30 minutes.

Renting a car can be a nice solution, because in a small city there isn't much traffic congestion. If you want to stay in a place "far" from the centre, car rental is practical and not too expensive.

See






Do

 * Football: Vitória SC play soccer in Primeira Liga, Portugal's top tier. Their home ground Estádio D. Afonso Henriques (capacity 30,000) is just north of town centre.

Drink
An escapade to Largo da Oliveira is always a good choice, cosmopolitan feel with lots of inviting cafes.

Go next

 * Amarante
 * Braga
 * Chaves
 * Peso da Régua
 * Viana do Castelo
 * Vila Real