Tourist Attractions in Lamego

Another interesting feature of the town is the Capela do Desterro (1640) south of the cathedral on the main road to Guarda. Richly decorated with 17th C. azulejos and talha dourada, it has a Renaissance portal and a fine painted coffered ceiling.

On a hill above the town is the 11th-13th C. castle, originally Moorish, with only its 13th C. keep and some of the walls still standing.

In the center of town rises the massive Gothic Cathedral, founded by Afonso Henriques in 1129 and much altered in the 16th and 17th C. Of the original building there survives only the sturdy square tower. The interior was completely remodeled in the 18th C. The adjoining Renaissance cloister has several fine chapels.

This annual festival takes place in late August to mid September. The main event takes place on September 8, with ox carts carrying religious icons through the streets.

Just below the Castelo, to the west, is the Romanesque Igreja de Almacave with fine carved capitals and a 16th Renaissance pulpit.

The Regional Museum is housed in the former Bishop's Palace (18th C.), on the Largo de Camoes diagonally opposite the Cathedral. Its interesting collection includes 16th C. Flemish tapestries that once furnished the palace itself, Portuguese painting of the 16th 18th C., sculpture of the 13th 17th C., and religious and folk art.

Barrô, 16km/10mi northwest of Lamego on the N222, is delightfully situated above the Douro valley and has a 12th C. Romanesque church.

The little spa of Caldas de Aregos, 5km/3mi west of Anreade, is beautifully situated on a wooded hill above the Douro valley. It has hot sulfur springs (50-61°C/122-142°F) used to treat ailments of the joints and bronchial diseases. It has a lovely park and there are fine views from the Penedo de Sao Joao, a crag above the town.

10km/6mi past Tarouquela, the road Castelo de Paiva, or Sobrado de Paiva as it is also known, is a little town surrounded by hills. A good center from which to explore the surrounding area, it boasts an attraction of its own in the Quinta da Boa Vista, an 18th C. country house.

Famed for its vinho verde, Cinfaes is 15km/9mi further west and has an 18th C. mansion, the Quinta da Fervança.

13km/8mi north of Lamego on the N2, Peso da Régua (pop. 5,500; alt. 380m/1,246ft), Régua for short, is a pretty little town situated at the point where the little rivers Corgo (right bank) and Baroso (left bank) flow into the Douro.

Resende is 8km/5mi past Sao Martinho de Mouros along the road to the west. It is a trim little town, with above it the Romanesque church of Sao Salvador (view).

A side road at Anreade (2km/1mi further west) leads, after 8km/5mi, to the Manueline church Santa Maria de Cárquere, which belonged to a convent founded in the 11th C.

5km/3mi past Barrô on the N222, as it winds its way along the Douro valley, Sao Martinho de Mouros has a Romanesque church (ninth-11th century) at the end of the village and is notable for its richly carved capitals and a picture of St Martin ascribed to Vasco Fernandes.

About 3km/2mi northeast of Lamego (right fork just before reaching Lamego on the Guarda road), in the valley of the Rio Balsemao, stands the Visigothic church of Sao Pedro de Balsemao, which is believed to be the oldest church in Portugal (seventh C.). The church was restored in 1643 and given a coffered ceiling. It contains the sarcophagus of Afonso Pires, a 14th C. bishop of Oporto.

Sernancelhe, about 50km/31mi southeast of Lamego, has a Romanesque parish church with a separate belfry and a 16th century pelourinho.

Off the road to Guarda, 10km/6mi south of Lamego, is the pretty village of Tarouca, in a beautiful setting at the head of a valley flanked by rugged walls of rock. In the church of the former Cistercian convent of Sao Joao de Tarouca, probably founded by Afonso I in 1171, is the imposing tomb of Conde Pedro de Barcelos (d. 1354), illegitimate son of King Dinis I and author of the "Livro das Linhagens", a register of the nobility. The sarcophagus of his wife, formerly in the church, is now in the museum in Lamego.

Tarouquela, 15km/9mi west of Cinfaes, has a well preserved hilltop Romanesque church, Santa Maria Maior, which belonged to a 12th C. Benedictine convent. Close by is the Romanesque/Gothic chapel of Sao Joao Baptista.