Seia lies on the western slope of the Serra da Estrela, about 500 metres up, and is the starting point of the busiest road to Torre, the summit of mainland Portugal. It is a quiet town with surprising museums.
The museums
The best known is the Museu do Pão, the Bread Museum, one of the most visited in Portugal: in a complex of granite buildings it tells the cycle of bread, from sowing wheat to milling and baking, with working ovens, a bakery, a restaurant and a section on the religious and social meaning of bread. Seia also has the Museu do Brinquedo, the Toy Museum, with thousands of Portuguese and foreign toys, and the Natural Museum of Electricity, in the old Senhora do Desterro hydroelectric plant on the Alva, one of the first in the region. CISE, the Serra da Estrela Interpretation Centre, is the place to learn about the mountain's geology, flora and fauna before exploring it.
Sabugueiro
Climbing towards Torre you reach Sabugueiro, at about 1,050 metres, considered Portugal's highest village. Its granite houses, many turned into shops, sell mountain cheese, cured meats, honey, wool blankets and puppies of the famous Estrela Mountain Dog.
Surroundings
From Seia you can reach the Alva valley, with river beaches such as Loriga's, one of the range's loveliest villages, in a glacial valley. Seia is about an hour and a half from Coimbra and three hours from Lisbon by car. On the other side of the mountain are Covilhã and Manteigas.