Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOP OF CHAPTER
Valença do Minho
POP 3400
Now you're really in the Minho, where all is green, fertile and rustling in shared Span-
ish-Portuguese winds and waters. And no place has a better view of it all than this atmo-
spheric fort village occupying strategic heights above the picturesque Rio Minho. Valença
do Minho (Valença) sits just a cannonball shot from Spain, and its impressive pair of cit-
adels long served as the Minho's first line of defence against Spanish aggression. But his-
tory insists on repeating itself, and these days the town is regularly overrun by Spanish
hordes. They come armed with wallets and make away with volumes of towels and linens
from the high stacks that line the cobbled streets.
The good news is that on even the busiest days (which tend to be Wednesdays and
weekends), you can sidestep the towel touts and discover that these two interconnected
forts also contain a fully functioning village where locals shop, eat, drink and gossip
among pretty squares and narrow, medieval lanes. And when, in the evening, the weary
troops retreat to Spain with their loot, the empty watchtowers return to their silent contem-
plation of their ancient enemy - the glowering Spanish fortress of Tui just across the river.
Visitors can easily see the sights of Valença as a day trip, but there are two atmospheric
places to sleep within the fortress walls that allow you to see and feel peaceful Valença
when it empties at sunset. That's when you can hear the footsteps of kittens in the lane-
ways while birdsong echoes off ancient stone walls.
An uninspiring new town sprawls at the foot of the fortress. From the bus station it's
800m north via Av Miguel Dantas (the N13) and the Largo da Trapicheira roundabout
(aka Largo da Esplanada) to the
turismo.
The train station is just east of Av Miguel
Dantas.
Sights & Activities
There are in fact two
fortresses
, bristling with bastions, watchtowers, massive gateways and
defensive bulwarks, connected by a single bridge. The old churches and Manueline man-
sions inside testify to the success of the fortifications against several sieges, some as late
as the 19th century. The earliest fortifications date from the 13th-century reign of Dom
Afonso III, though largely what you see today was built in the 17th century, its design in-
spired by the French military architect Vauban.
