Viana do Castelo stands at the mouth of the Lima river, on the Atlantic coast of the Minho, about 70 kilometres north of Porto. A port of fishermen and merchants, in the sixteenth century it grew rich on trade with northern Europe and cod fishing, as its Renaissance and Manueline mansions show. It is one of the most beautiful towns in northern Portugal.
Santa Luzia
Above the town, on Mount Santa Luzia, stands the Santa Luzia basilica, built in the early twentieth century to a design by Miguel Ventura Terra, with a large dome inspired by the Sacré-Coeur in Paris. You go up by funicular, the longest in Portugal, or on foot up a stairway. The terrace and dome give a famous view over the Lima estuary, the town and the coast. Behind the basilica are the remains of an Iron Age hillfort, the Citânia de Santa Luzia.
The centre
The heart of the town is Praça da República, with the sixteenth-century old town hall (Paços do Concelho), a Renaissance fountain and the Misericórdia building, with loggias supported by caryatids. The surrounding streets have churches with azulejos and gilded woodwork, and noble houses. Moored on the river is the Gil Eannes, a hospital ship that from 1955 supported Portuguese cod fishermen off Newfoundland, now a museum. The river is crossed by the iron Eiffel bridge, opened in 1878 and built by Gustave Eiffel's company. Near the harbour, the municipal library is by Álvaro Siza.
The Romaria d'Agonia
In August the town celebrates the Romaria da Senhora d'Agonia, one of Portugal's most spectacular popular festivals: four days of processions, including at sea, flower carpets and coloured salt in the streets, fireworks and above all the ethnographic parade, with hundreds of women in red embroidered Viana costume, covered in gold filigree jewellery. Filigree, lenços dos namorados (embroidered handkerchiefs girls gave their sweethearts) and embroidery are Viana's typical crafts.
Beaches and surroundings
Across the Lima, Cabedelo beach is one of Europe's best for kitesurfing and windsurfing. To the north are the beaches of Afife and Moledo, and inland the road leads to Ponte de Lima. Viana is reached from Porto by train (about an hour and a half) or by car on the A28 motorway.