41.45° N · 8.29° W
The city of Portugal's first king: a castle, the palace of the dukes and a medieval World Heritage centre. An hour from Porto by train and 90 minutes from Vigo.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
The castle associated with the birth of Portugal, with walls you can walk and the Romanesque church of Afonso Henriques's baptism. Visit · 1 h · €5
A 15th-century palace with brick chimneys beside the castle, with tapestry and furniture rooms. Visit · 1 h 30 · €10, or €13 with the castle
The walk through the World Heritage centre: the "Aqui nasceu Portugal" wall, the Oliveira and Santiago squares and the oldest street. On foot · 1–2 h · Free
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
From April to June and in September and October, with good weather for walking. In winter it often rains in the Minho. On 24 June, the municipal holiday, the palace and the castle are closed.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Guimarães is one of the easiest cities in Portugal without a car: the train arrives from Porto in about an hour, the centre is pedestrianised and the cable car takes you up to Penha. Only Braga and Bom Jesus call for a bus or a car.
From Vigo it is about 90 minutes by the A3 and A7. The car is for getting there and for Braga, Bom Jesus or the Gerês; inside the city, leave it parked. Some motorways have electronic tolls only.
For a celebration getaway, Guimarães has a pousada in a 12th-century monastery, a boutique hotel on the best square and a starred restaurant.
Porto airport has direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and other Spanish cities, and Guimarães is about 50 km away: a good half hour by car or, without a car, the metro to Porto and a CP train of about an hour.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Guimarães can be seen in a day with children: the castle grips them, the centre is pedestrianised and Penha by cable car is a plan in itself. Families pay half price at the castle and the palace.
With children under six, alternate a short visit with something that moves: the cable car, the wall, the playground.
Guimarães works for teenagers if you mix the castle with Penha and a bit of freedom in the squares. Young people aged 13 to 24 pay half price at the monuments.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: A pousada in a 12th-century Augustinian monastery on the climb to Penha, about 3 km from the centre, with views over the city, a pool and a garden.
Why we like it: A boutique hotel on the Oliveira square itself, with rooms dedicated to figures and traditions of the city and the HOOL restaurant downstairs.
Why we like it: A four-star hotel in an 1886 building on Largo do Toural, between the new town and the historic centre, with a breakfast of local produce.
Why we like it: A municipal campsite open all year at the top of Penha mountain, under the trees, with a motorhome area and a pool in summer.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: the potato mille-feuille with chanterelles and acorn, awarded in the vegan category of the 7 Maravilhas da Nova Gastronomia.
What to order: the Equilíbrio menu, of six or nine courses; on the short à la carte, the beef with cauliflower that the Michelin guide highlights.
What to order: the à la carte at midday on the square terrace; the tasting menu at dinner before 21:00.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
41.72° N · 8.16° W
By carBy campervanCamping
41.14° N · 8.61° W
Car-freeBy carLuxuryBy plane
42.22° N · 8.90° W
By car
42.34° N · 7.88° W
By car
Tips
If you are going to see the palace and the castle, the €13 combined ticket saves you €2 and a queue.
It opens at 10:00. By mid-morning the tour groups arrive from Porto.
At night, when the day trippers leave, the terraces of Praça da Oliveira and Praça de Santiago are the best part of the visit.
Stay a night. Guimarães can be seen in a day from Porto, but at night the squares in the centre have a different rhythm and the next day you can go up the Penha or continue to Braga.
It is closed to the public. Walk the castle walls and spend your time on the palace and the squares.
Guimarães is seen on foot. The historic centre, a World Heritage Site since 2001, runs from Largo do Toural, beside the stretch of wall bearing the sign “Aqui nasceu Portugal” (“Portugal was born here”), up to the castle hill. In between is the best of it: Praça da Oliveira and Praça de Santiago, with houses with wooden balconies and granite arcades, and Rua de Santa Maria, the oldest, which climbs towards the castle.
At the top, Monte Latito brings together three national monuments. Guimarães Castle is the one most associated with the origin of the country; you can walk along its walls, but the keep is closed to the public. Beside it, the small Romanesque church of São Miguel, where tradition says Afonso Henriques, the first king, was baptised. And the Palace of the Dukes of Braganza, built at the order of Afonso, first Duke of Braganza and natural son of King João I, with tapestries, furniture and weapons.
All three are open every day from 10:00 to 18:00, with last entry at 17:30, and the ticket office is in the palace. The palace costs €10 and the castle €5; the combined palace and castle ticket, €13, and if you add the Alberto Sampaio museum, in Praça da Oliveira, €17. Young people from 13 to 24, over-65s and families pay half. They are closed on 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 24 June and 25 December.
Since 2023, the Couros area, the old tanneries district beside the river, has also been a World Heritage Site. It is a step from the centre and can be seen on a short walk.
Above the city is the Penha mountain, with forest, rocks, trails and a sanctuary. You go up on the Guimarães cable car, run by the Turipenha cooperative, and up top there is also a campsite. In bad weather the cable car may close: check the notices on its website before going.
Braga is 15 minutes by motorway. About 30 km from Guimarães, on the outskirts of Braga, the Bom Jesus do Monte sanctuary, a World Heritage Site, has a zigzag Baroque stairway that you climb on foot, and a lift if you don't want to climb it. For the Douro or Peneda-Gerês Park, Guimarães also works as a base, with a car.
By car, Guimarães is about 90 minutes from Vigo via the A3 and A7, 30 minutes from Porto and 15 from Braga. Some Portuguese motorways have electronic-only tolls: register your plate before crossing. For parking, the paid car park at Largo Condessa Mumadona is 400 m from the palace.
By train, the CP line from Porto takes around an hour. Guimarães station is 1.5 km from the palace, about 20 minutes' walk through the centre. If you fly, the nearest airport is Porto's.
In 2026 Guimarães is European Green Capital, with activities throughout the year. The city is easy on foot, but the cobbles and the castle hill are tiring: wear flat shoes. The palace lift has broken down at times, so if you are with someone with reduced mobility, ask at the ticket office.
Questions
Yes. The centre, the castle and the palace can be seen in a day on foot. With one night you add the Penha or Braga.
The castle, €5; the palace, €10; both together, €13. Young people from 13 to 24, over-65s and families pay half.
Yes, with CP, in around an hour. From the station you can walk to the centre in about 20 minutes.
On 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 24 June and 25 December.
Because the city is associated with Afonso Henriques, the first king, and the beginnings of the kingdom in the 12th century. The phrase is written on the wall by Toural.
Yes. They like the castle, the centre is pedestrianised and the Penha cable car is an outing in itself. At the palace and the castle, families pay half.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/northern-portugal/guimaraes
