Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
da Barca. It's now a strip of occasionally happening bars with ample, shady park-bench
riverside seating.
The
turismo
has a booklet called
Historia, Patrimonia & Cultura,
with regional inform-
ation, including details of
hikes
in the surrounding valley, some of them punctuated with
ancient sites. A simple stroll west for 4km leads to
Bravães
, a village famous for its lovely,
small Romanesque
Igreja de São Salvador
. Its west portal is adorned with intricate carved an-
imals, birds and human figures; its interior shelters simple frescos of the Virgin and the
Crucifixion.
Festivals & Events
Festa de São Bartolomeu
Held from 19 to 24 August, this festival sees folk music and dancing aplenty, not to men-
tion parades and fireworks.
CULTURE
Sleeping
Pensão Restaurante Gomes
( 258 452 288; Rua Conselheiro Rocha Peixoto 13; s/d with shared bathroom €20/25)
Welcome to your
sweet Barca granny's house. Incredibly cheap, old-world rooms have worn wooden floors,
sloping ceilings and tons of charm, and there are fabulous river and bridge views from the
rooftop terrace.
GUESTHOUSE
$
Residencial San Fernando
( 258 452 580;
www.residencialsfernando.com
; Rua de Sto Antonio; d from €38; )
At the very top of
the new town, about 800m beyond Pensão Restaurante Gomes, this more- modern
resid-
encial
has smart, bright rooms with up-to-date comforts, up a marble staircase. If you
can't find anyone at the desk, pop into the furniture shop next door.
GUESTHOUSE
$
Residencial Os Poetas
( 258 453 578; Largo dos Poetas 49; s/d from €32/36; Jul-Sep)
A short stroll east of the bridge, this
summer-only place has 10 pleasant rooms and an excellent riverside location.
GUESTHOUSE
$
Casa Nobre do Correio Mor
INN
$$
