We piled into the car after 9:00 and headed to Braga, the third largest city in Portugal with a very attractive old town, where we had an excellent breakfast and then walked around and soaked it in.

We headed towards the city center, where the main sights were located.

Braga’s upscale old center is packed with lively cafes and trim boutiques, some excellent restaurants and low-key bars catering to students from the Universidade do Minho. 

The constant chiming of bells is a reminder of Braga’s age-old devotion to the spiritual world. Its religious festivals – particularly the elaborately staged Semana Santa (Holy Week) – are famous throughout Portugal.

The Braga Cathedral, due to its long history and artistic significance, it is also one of the most important buildings in the country. It is the seat of the Archdiocese of Braga.

The charming historic centre, is a joy to wander and is filled with traditional buildings and historic monuments, but we decided to leave Braga because we also needed to visit the city of Guimarães.

After just a couple of hours, nothing else caught our attention and we headed to the car to continue our drive…