Portugal – Braga – Part I (En)
Yesterday Wednesday we arrived at Braga at the municipal camping which is 20 minute’s walk from the city centre. The camping is small but very nice with all the facilities and the staff really helpful, giving us a map of the city centre with all the things to see. The camping is 16 euros per day so pretty good to be so near to the city.
Braga, the third biggest city in Portugal, is known to be a modern yet traditional city, with plenty of places to visit. This area is characterized by its beautiful and peaceful squares, old narrow streets where car traffic is not allowed and a big diversity of amazing churches of the Baroque style, considered the main religious centre of Portugal. Braga is a historical city. Its long history is evidenced by the vast number of monuments and churches, the most important being the Braga Cathedral, for showing many architectural styles from the Romanesque to Baroque, the oldest one in Portugal, sacred in the year 1089. Some of the most beautiful and emblematic spots of the city, besides the Sé Cathedral of Braga, are Nuestra Senhora da Torre Chapel located in San Paul square, cruzeiros (crosses) in different squares, historical houses from the 18th-century as Vale Flores House, interesting Museums as dos Biscainhos Museum, Convent do Populo from the 16th-century, la Camara Municipal from the 18th-century and currently the Town Hall, the Palace dos Braganza, the Arch da Porta Nova from the year 1772.
After walking for 3 hours or more we went to have lunch but all the places were full so we book a table in a restaurant and went to have a drink in a square with a dragon statue and amazing gardens. After that, we went to have lunch where we share the two typical cod dishes. The Braga cod dish is fried cod in a potato bed with a saute of onions and peppers, really yummy. And cream cod with cream, potatoes, onions and grilled cheese on the top. Both delicious! With a bottle of white wine from the Alentejo area.
After lunch we went to see another part of the historical centre where we saw the baroque San Vicente church, the Arcada a building from the Renaissance in a square with a massive water fountain, the church dos Congregados, the House Rolao built between 1758 and 1761 and the convent da Penha de Franca from the mid-17th-century. When we were walking we saw some people playing typical Portuguese music in the street and many people were dancing, pretty cool!
After walking for more than 6 hours we went back to the camping totally exhausted. And tomorrow Friday we will go to see the famous Bom Jesus do Monte Sanctuary and Santa María Magdalena church which is pretty far so we will try to go on the motorbike. And you will see that in the second part of the blog about this amazing city!
