Viana do Castelo

The Essential

Recommended

Viana do Castelo is the main seaside resort of the Costa Verde and undoubtedly the most charming. A humble fishing village in the Middle Ages, its heyday was in the 16C when its sailors went cod fishing off the shores of the New World, and formed trade relationships with the Hanseatic towns. From the period are its Manueline and Renaissance residences, which give the old town its present charm. The area has a rich cultural heritage and some beautiful verdant landscape.