Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
sculptor Nicolas Chanterène. Other highlights are the iron cross that was used in 1500 to
celebrate the very first Mass in Brazil.
To visit the
choir
(adult/child €2/1),
visitors must purchase a separate ticket and join a guided
tour (some guides speak English), which gives an up-close look at the mesmerising organs
and gilded choir stalls. Visitors will then be led downstairs and into the cathedral's
showpiece Capela dos Reis (Kings' Chapel), home to the tombs of Henri of Burgundy and
Dona Teresa, parents of the first king of Portugal, Afonso Henriques. You'll also visit the
azulejo
-covered Capela de São Geraldo (dating from the 12th century but reworked over
the years) and the 14th-c entury Capela da Glória, whose interior was painted in unrepent-
antly Moorish geometric motifs in the 16th century.
Museu Dom Diogo de Sousa
(Rua dos Bombeiros Voluntários; admission €3, 10am-2pm Sun free; 10am-5.30pm Tue-Sun)
The archaeolo-
gical museum houses a nicely displayed collection of fragments from Braga's earliest
days. The four rooms feature pieces from Palaeolithic times (arrowheads, funerary objects
and ceramics) through the days of Roman rule and on up to the period dominated by the
Suevi-Visigoth kingdom (5th to 7th centuries). The most fascinating pieces are the huge
miliários
(milestones), carved with Latin inscriptions, that marked the Roman roads.
MUSEUM
Termas Romanas do
Alto Cividade
(Rua Dr Rocha Peixoto; adult/student €1.70/free; 9am-12.30pm & 2-5.30pm Tue-Fri, 11am-5pm Sat & Sun)
These ruins of an extensive bathing complex - with an attached theatre - date from the
2nd century AD, and were probably abandoned in the 5th century. See the quick seven-
minute introductory video in English or Portuguese.
ROMAN RUINS
Fonte do Ídolo
ROMAN RUINS
(Idol Spring; Rua do Raio; adult/student €1.85/0.90; 9am-12.30pm & 2-5.30pm Tue-Fri, 11am-5pm Sat & Sun)
Another Roman ruin recently opened to the public, this spring is set underneath a mod
lobby. An essential community water source, it was carved into a fountain during pre-Ro-
man times by Celicus Fronto, an immigrant from the city-state of Arcobriga. One carving
is of a toga-clad pilgrim thought to be holding the horn of plenty. There's an introductory
video, too.
