Belmonte

The town of Belmonte (pop. 3,912) is located ten miles northeast of Covilha on the eastern side of the Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela. The Zezere River flows just to the west of town. Belmonte Castle, dating from the thirteenth century CE, overlooks the town on the highest hill, and is an easy walk from the town center: the main streets in the town are the Ria Direita and Rua da Fonte da Rosa (to the south of the castle) and Rua Pedro Alvares Cabral (to the north of the castle). Noteworthy points of interest also include the Belmonte Jewish Museum; the Belmonte Hebrew Synagogue, which was built and dedicated in 1996, on the 500th anniversary of the edict expelling the Jews from Portugal; and the Roman-era Centrum Cellas cistern tower.

Caramulo

The westernmost town you will visit in the Beira Alta is Caramulo (pop. 1,000), located about six miles northwest of Tondela. Caramulo was founded in 1921 by a visionary doctor, Jeronimo Lacerda, who opened the Hotel de Caramulo the next year, a little over a mile from the farming village of Paredes do Guardao. Caramulo was the first town to be planned with electricity and sewer systems in mind, and in 1922 it became the first town in the country to certify that every dwelling was wired and piped, respectively, for electric and waste removal. Eventually over 20 sanatoria were based in Caramulo, and the town quickly earned worldwide renown as a health spa destination. A noteworthy client of the sanatoria in Caramulo was Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, the dictator who ruled Portugal with an iron fist from 1932 to 1968.

In addition to more traditional houses and buildings, you will notice Art Deco architecture, popular during the 1920s. Another important point of interest in town is the Museu do Caramulo, which houses one of the largest Portuguese vintage automobile collections. The collection includes cars from Salazar`s motorcade as well as the Alba sports car, a home-grown Portuguese model which was mass-produced in the 1950s.

Covilha

Covilha (pop. 34,000) is located two miles southeast of the Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela and two and a half miles west-northwest of the Zezere River. It is of the larger towns in the Beira Alta and one of the few sizable towns connected to the rest of the country by train. Covilha is well-known as a commercial and industrial hub for the region, leading the country in textile production, and also well-known for its natural beauty.

The Serra da Estrela Mountains tower over the city, and the tallest point in mainland Portugal, Torre (elev. 6,539 ft.), is located just four miles to the northwest of town. Nicknamed `the town of wool and snow`, Covilha is a popular winter vacation destination, just twelve miles away from the largest ski resort in the country, Vodafone Ski Resort. In the summer, tourists can enjoy mountain-climbing and hiking. Noteworthy points of interest in Covilha include the largest university in the area, the Universidade da Beira Interior; the Royal Textile Building, located on what is now the UBI campus; the Igreja de Santa Maria, with its beautiful azulejos on the building facade; and the City Hall building, located in between the Rua de 6 Dezembro and the central roundabout.

Fornos de Algodres

The historic village of Fornos de Algodres (pop. 1,629) was first settled over 5,000 years ago, and the remnants today can be seen in town and across the municipality in the form of megalithic rock formations called dolmens. Fornos de Algodres is also particularly renowned for its local cheese and wine production. Ask for the Queijo da Serra and the Vinho do Dao, respectively. Three miles northeast of town sits the Roman castro of Santiago, and nine miles away from town is the Bronze Age-settlement of Queiriz.

Gouveia

Gouveia (pop. 3,700) is a town bordered on three sides by the Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela, and located on the N232 motorway which takes travelers from Viseu through Gouveia and the Parque Natural to Belmonte. Founded during the time of the Romans, Gouveia`s original nucleus (the Old Town) is wrapped in a circular area around the Rua da Republica. The Igreja Paroquial de Sao Juliao; the Baroque-era manor Solar dos Serpa Pimentel, which is now the town`s library; and the Capela de Santa Eufemia are all located in this area of town. Other points of interest include the Medieval-era Casa da Torre as well as the Igreja de Sao Pedro and Igreja da Misericordia, the latter two located on Avenida 25 de Abril. The Anta de Orca dolmen (pictured) is located four miles to the west of town.

Guarda

Located on the northeastern edge of the Serra da Estrela, Guarda (pop. 42,000) is one of the larger cities you will visit in the Beira Alta, in population and in size. It is also noteworthy for being the highest-elevated town in Portugal, sitting over 3,000 feet above sea level. While other towns and cities in the region are compact, the city of Guarda sprawls; in fact, the city`s train station is located to the northeast in a conurbation called Sao Miguel de Guarda. Points of interest in the area include the Gothic and Manueline Guarda Cathedral; the ruins of Guarda Castle, which are perched above the city at the highest point of an already high city; the Torre dos Ferreiros, a portion of the old Guarda city walls; the historic quarter, located to the east of Guarda Castle; and the old Jewish Quarter, located near the Porta d`El Rei.

Linhares

Located roughly halfway between Gouveia and Guarda in the Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela, the historic village of Linhares (short for Linhares da Beira, pop. 259) received its royal charter in the year 1169, with the Linhares da Beira Castle being built in the generation after at the behest of King Dinis. During the time of the Romans, Linhares was considered a stop on the commercial road between Braga and what is now Merida, in Spain. The remnants of the Roman road can be viewed by traveling northwest of the castle. The compact village`s main roads are the Rua Direita and the Rua da Igreja, which link the Castle with the other three points of interest in the village: the Igreja Matriz, the Igreja da Misericordia, and the Capela da Nossa Senhora da Conceicao.

Nelas

Nelas (pop. 4,700) is popular with tourists as a place to sample Queijo da Serra and Vinho do Dao. You will notice a few pillories as you walk about the town; these date from Roman times and are remnants of their conquest of the area. Nelas Winery, on Avenida da Liberdade, is the largest winery in town and is a place where you can taste and buy this homegrown vintage. For the tasty cheese called the Queijo da Serra, there are entire warehouses dedicated to its storage and sale; you can find vendors in the Largo Vasco da Gama.

Oliveira do Hospital

A Roman settlement which became the home base of a religious medical order, the town of Oliveira do Hospital (pop. 4,900) is the jumping-off point for many historic relics and architectural marvels. First you should visit the village of Avo (pictured), south of Oliveira do Hospital, built on a hillside and featuring an authentic Roman bridge. Other points of interest not to be missed in the immediate area include the Desagravo Convent, which once operated as a sanatorium and is now a pousada; the Romanesque-Gothic hybrid Igreja Matriz, first built in the thirteenth century; and the proto-Roman single-nave Chapel of Lourosa.

Penalva do Castelo

Penalva do Castelo (pop. 7,900) is a town that doesn`t have a castle, despite the name. Originally the town`s castle was built to the east on the banks of the Dao River, in the area adjacent to the Igreja Matriz. However, the castle has long since been demolished. The area was a stop on St. James` Way, the road pilgrims took to travel to Santiago de Compostela, located in what is today Spanish Galicia. A wine and cheese fair is held in Penalva do Castelo each year, where Vinho do Dao, Queijo da Serra, olive oil and a special type of apple are all sold. If you come outside of the culinary fair time, make a trip northeast of town to Esmolfe where you will enjoy `Bravo de Esmolfe` apples, a small, soft, aromatic apple specific to the region. You can pick these apples yourself in the orchards in September and October.

Piodao

The southernmost town you will visit in the Beira Alta is the schist village of Piodao (pop. 178), located in the government-protected landscape area called the Serra do Acor, just southwest of the Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela. Piodao is considered to be one of Portugal`s most beautiful schist villages, noteworthy for its brown stone houses and blue framed windows and doors. The major point of interest in this historic village is the Igreja Matriz, with its whitewashed facade and cylindrical buttresses sticking out amongst the other stone dwellings. There are a number of vantage points which overlook the town and the countryside. West of town is the Fraga da Pena waterfall, located right in the middle of the Serra do Acor range.

Sao Pedro do Sul

The sights of historic Sao Pedro do Sul (pop. 5,700) can be seen in an afternoon strolling the Praca da Republica. The Praca, also called the Praca do Solar da Lapa, houses a number of historic buildings such as the Baroque-era Reriz Palace; the Igreja Matriz; and the Igreja de Santo Antonio. Sao Pedro do Sul is best-known, however, for their thermal baths, which were documented as far back as the time of the Romans. The thermal waters, like Sao Pedro itself, are located on the banks of the Vouga River, about two and a half miles` drive southwest on the N16 motorway from the center of town. You will find a number of resorts along the Rua Principal and the Rua Central.

Tondela

Located between the Cris River and the Dinha River, the town of Tondela (pop. 4,500) is so named for the lookouts, on guard to protect the settlement against the Moors. The lookouts would blast a trumpet at the town`s most famous landmark, the fountain called the Fonte da Sereia; it is said that the name came from the townspeople`s reaction to the trumpet, `ao`tom`dela`, (lit. `the sound of it!`). Many sights are located along one of Tondela`s main roads, namely the Rua Tomaz Ribeiro. The Santa Eufemia Church is situated to the north of the fountain. Traveling south from the Fonte da Sereia, you will see the Igreja da Nossa Senhora do Carmo; as well as the Museu Terra de Besteiros, located in an old palatial estate. The museum houses a number of local artifacts which date back thousands of years.

Viseu

Viseu (pop. 99,000) is the largest town in the Beira Alta region and is connected by road with most of the towns and villages you will be visiting on your trip. Settled thousands of years ago, Viseu`s fortunes were first tied to the Roman roads which linked Lisbon, Braga, Galicia, and Merida in Spain. Today Viseu is known as the hub of the Vinho do Dao region and the city best-known for its sale. The best-known points of interest are located in and around Viseu Cathedral. Viseu Cathedral, which began construction in the twelfth century, was added onto bit by bit over the next four centuries, and as a result it is perhaps the most visually eclectic cathedral in Portugal, with Gothic, Manueline, Renaissance and Mannerist influences scattered throughout. The bishop`s house is now the Grao Vasco National Museum, named after the Portuguese painter Vasco Fernandes, who painted a number of altarpieces for Viseu Cathedral during the time of the Renaissance. Also adjacent is the Rococo-era Igreja da Misericordia. The ring road around the city of Viseu is called the Avenida Cidade de Sao Filipe to the west and the Estrada Circumvalacao to the east. Viseu is a noted university town, home to the Catholic University of Portugal and the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu.