Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Turismo
( 254 615 770;
www.cm-lamego.pt
;
Av Visconde Guedes Teixeira; 9.30am-12.30pm & 2-6pm daily)
This fantastic tourist office is full of solid suggestions from warm, knowledgeable,
English-speaking staff.
Getting There & Away
The most appealing route to Lamego from anywhere in the Douro valley is by train to
Peso da Régua and by bus or taxi from there. A taxi from Régua costs about €15 to €20.
From Lamego's bus station, Joalto/EAVT and Rede Expressos are the only operators.
Buses travel about hourly to Peso da Régua (€2.30, 30 minutes) and daily to Viseu (€8.90,
1¼ hours) and Lisbon (€18.50, 5¾ hours). The Lisbon bus also passes through Chaves
(€11.40, 2¼ hours) and Vila Real (€6, one hour).
Copy Print
(
254 619 447; Av Visconde Guedes
8am-8pm)
, a newsagent beside the
turismo,
sells tickets for these services.
Teixeira;
TOP OF CHAPTER
Around Lamego
Capela de São Pedro de Balsemão
Older than Portugal itself, this mysterious little
chapel
( 10am-12.30pm & 2-5.30pm Wed-Sun,
2-5.30pm Mon-Tue)
was probably built by Visigoths as early as the 6th century. With Corinthi-
an columns, round arches and intriguing symbols etched into the walls, it certainly pred-
ates the introduction of even Romanesque architecture to Portugal. More ornate 14th-cen-
tury additions were commissioned by the Bishop of Porto, Afonso Pires, who is buried
under a slab in the floor. Check out the ancient casket dominating the entrance chamber:
supported by lions and intricately engraved, it depicts the Last Supper on one side and the
Crucifixion on the other.
The chapel is tucked away in the hamlet of Balsemão, 3km southeast of Lamego above
the Rio Balsemão. It's a pleasant downhill walk from Lamego through an old world vil-
lage, then a riparian corridor full of flowers, grapevines and wild shrubs, though it is a
rather steep return trip. From the 17th-century Capela do Desterro at the end of Rua da
Santa Cruz, head southeast over the river and follow the road to the left.
