Braga City Break from the UK — Weekend Guide & Itinerary

Overview

Why Braga for a city break?

Braga is Portugal's most underrated city — older than Lisbon, with more churches per square kilometre than anywhere in the country, a thriving student population that has transformed the food and nightlife scene over the past decade, and prices that make it the best-value city in mainland Portugal. The Bom Jesus do Monte sanctuary — a baroque staircase of 577 steps climbing the hill above the city, with chapels representing the Via Crucis at each landing — is one of the most beautiful architectural approaches to any building in Portugal and gave Braga the name "the Rome of Portugal". An hour from Porto by train and completely free of the tourist pressure that has made Porto increasingly difficult to navigate.

From London it's 90 minutes to Porto (easyJet, Ryanair) plus a 50-minute train to Braga (€6.20) — a practical combination with a Porto day trip. Alternatively, direct Ryanair services to Porto from Manchester, Edinburgh and other UK regional airports. Braga has no airport of its own. Go from April to October: the Semana Santa (Holy Week) processions through the baroque streets are among the most dramatic in the Iberian peninsula. The student festival Festas de São João in June is the most vibrant week of the year.

Where to stay & explore

Braga's best neighbourhoods

Centro Histórico

The baroque old town — the Cathedral, the Episcopal Palace gardens, the Rua do Souto shopping street and the most concentrated ecclesiastical architecture in Portugal.

Altinho & Maximinos

The student neighbourhoods west of the centre — the university, the best independent cafés and bars, and the most local version of Braga.

Bom Jesus do Monte

The hilltop sanctuary district 5km from the centre — the baroque staircase, the sanctuary, the woodland park and the most extraordinary approach to any building in Portugal.

Things to do

What to see in Braga

1

Bom Jesus do Monte

The most beautiful baroque staircase in the world — the Via Sacra staircase climbs 116 metres from the base to the neoclassical basilica at the summit in a series of zigzag flights, with chapels dedicated to the Stations of the Cross and allegorical fountains representing the five senses at each landing. The hydraulic funicular (1882, the oldest in Portugal) provides an alternative to the climb. At the summit: the basilica, a lake and gardens of the 18th century and the finest view of Braga and the Minho valley. Free access to the staircase and grounds; funicular €2.

2

Braga Cathedral (Sé de Braga)

The oldest cathedral in Portugal, founded in 1070 — a complex of Romanesque, Gothic, Manueline and Baroque additions accumulated over 900 years, representing an extraordinary compression of Portuguese architectural history. The Treasury Museum holds the finest collection of ecclesiastical silverwork in the country. The Gothic cloister and the organs (two extraordinary 18th-century pipe organs facing each other across the nave) are the highlights.

3

Mosteiro do Tibães

The mother house of the Benedictine order in Portugal — 8km northwest of Braga, accessible by bus — a monastery of extraordinary 17th and 18th-century baroque architecture, largely restored since its near-ruin in the 20th century. The church interior (gold-gilded carved wood, azulejo tile panels covering the cloister walls) is the finest baroque interior in the Minho region. The agricultural estate, kitchen gardens and fishponds are open to visit.

4

Braga Roman ruins (Bracara Augusta)

Roman Braga (Bracara Augusta) was the capital of Gallaecia province, founded in 16 BC — significant Roman remains survive beneath and around the modern city. The Palácio dos Biscainhos garden has Roman hypocaust heating visible in the basement. The Museu D. Diogo de Sousa (the finest Roman archaeology museum in northern Portugal) covers the city's Roman past with extraordinary finds including the finest Roman mosaic in the region. Free on Sundays.

Food & drink

Where to eat in Braga

Antiqvvm

One Michelin star / modern Portuguese

The finest restaurant in Braga and one of the finest in northern Portugal — a tasting menu of modern Portuguese cooking using local Minho produce (vitela barrosã veal, bacalhau, river fish) with extraordinary technique. The view over Braga from the hilltop terrace is the finest in the city. Book weeks ahead.

Centurium

Traditional Portuguese / historic centre

The most reliable traditional restaurant in Braga — excellent bacalhau preparations (bacalhau à Braga, bacalhau à Gomes de Sá), roast kid (cabrito assado, the classic Minho dish), caldo verde and the house Vinho Verde by the carafe. Affordable, consistently good, central.

Mercado do Bom Jesus

Café / market

The most pleasant café stop in Braga — at the base of the Bom Jesus staircase, with excellent coffee, the local francesinha sandwich (the Porto and Braga version of a croque-monsieur, with wet sauce and a fried egg), and a terrace in the shade of the sanctuary trees. The ideal lunch stop before or after the staircase climb.

Itinerary

3 days in Braga — a suggested itinerary

Day 1

Cathedral, Episcopal Palace, old town, student evening

Train from Porto to Braga (50 minutes, €6.20). Walk to the Cathedral immediately — the Romanesque nave, the Treasury, the carved organs. The Archbishop's Garden (Jardim de Santa Bárbara) behind the Episcopal Palace — one of the most beautiful formal gardens in Portugal, free. Walk the Rua do Souto and the old town streets. The Praça da República for coffee at Café Vianna (the most famous café in Braga, in a wonderful art deco interior). Student bar culture in the Altinho neighbourhood from 9pm. Centurium for dinner.

Day 2

Bom Jesus do Monte, Tibães Monastery

Bus 2 to Bom Jesus (20 minutes). Walk the full staircase up (30 minutes) — the Via Crucis chapels, the five-senses fountains, the zigzag climb. The basilica at the top. The gardens and the lake. Funicular down (€2) for the experience of the original hydraulic system. Bus or taxi to Mosteiro do Tibães (8km northwest) for the baroque church interior and the monastic estate. Return to Braga for Antiqvvm dinner (booked ahead).

Day 3

Guimarães day trip or the Roman museum

Guimarães — 22km east, 30 minutes by train (€3) — is considered the birthplace of Portugal: the castle where Afonso Henriques, Portugal's first king, was born in 1109, the Palace of the Dukes of Braganza (the finest example of 15th-century Portuguese civic architecture) and a perfectly preserved medieval centre. European Capital of Culture 2012. Alternatively: the Museu D. Diogo de Sousa in Braga for the Roman mosaic and the Bracara Augusta archaeology. Return to Braga for a final francesinha and the train back to Porto.

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