The frontier town of Caminha, once strongly fortified, is charmingly set on a tongue of land between the rivers Coura and Minho, just above the mouth of the Minho. Once a bulwark in the defense of northern Portugal against Galicia, strategically situated southwest of the Spanish stronghold of Santa Tecla, Caminha is now a modest little fishing town, with handicrafts and lace making as flourishing subsidiary activities.
Along the Atlantic coast southwest of Caminha lie several adjoining beaches; near the small resort of Moledo do Minho is the Praia de Moledo, to its south are the Praia do Pirata and the beach of Vila Praia de APncora. All have fine, clean sand and rich dunes and are lined with pine woods.
The Dólmen da Barrosa is one of Portugal's best preserved megalithic monuments, a large stone tomb from the Neolithic Age. This monument consists of a headstone with four overlapping supports on each side, capped with a slab of granite.
Caminha's most notable building, located about 150m/164yd beyond the arch in the clock tower in the Praça do Conselheiro Silva Torres, is the three aisled Collegiate Church, the Igreja Matriz, built between 1488 and 1565 and combining Gothic with early Renaissance elements. It has a Renaissance facade with an imposing main doorway and a beautiful rose window. Inside there is a wood ceiling carved in Mudéjar style by a Spanish master, while the apse and the charming octagonal font are Manueline.
In the main square of Caminha, the Praça do Conselheiro Silva Torres, stands the town hall (Paços do Concelho, 15th century), with a beautiful coffered ceiling in the council chamber. The adjoining 15th century clock tower is a relic of the town's medieval fortifications. On the south side of the square can be seen the Gothic Palácio dos Pitas (1490), and in the middle of the square, opposite the town hall, is a Renaissance granite fountain (16th century).
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