Visiting Viana do Castelo

We moved to Viana in July 2023 and have been enjoying it every single day since. Even when there's too many people at the 'big' festival to want to go outside. We wrote up a guide on Viana for our friends to use when visiting, and realized we could just share it here.

Basics to know about Viana. 

• Most of the city and Viana regional activities are on the municipal website, and you can read about Viana as well.

• You can read up a bit about Viana on Visit Portugal

• A fair number of Viana’s restaurants and shops closed on Sunday evening and all day Monday. If you are arriving on Sunday/Monday, we can suggest places to eat and what to do.

• Viana has an app! This digital audio guide offers visitors an educational “Viana Monumental” route on SmartGuide that will guide them through the most emblematic monuments and is available free of charge to all visitors. SmartGuide is available on the App Store (Apple) and Play Store. All information can be downloaded and used offline.

Getting to and around Viana

• Most of Viana, as a city, is very walkable; there’s always a festival or event going on (200+ per year), so there are tons of hotels, restaurants, and things to see. You don’t necessarily need anything but some comfy shoes. Maybe sunscreen.

• Bolt or Uber are in town and can get you where you need to go very easily if you don’t want to walk. Of note, they are not as available as in bigger places, and if your destination is particularly remote, they may not be able to pick you up again so plan accordingly.

• The train and bus stations are at the base of the big hill, and can get you around the region and to Porto and the Airport in 45 minutes to an hour. You can book train tickets through Comboios Portugal and bus tickets through Flix or Rede Expressos. A taxi from the airport area can be anywhere from 60-80 Euros, and a taxi back to the airport can be a little more. Taxis hang out at the train station most of the day. If you are at the airport get taxis at the stands, not from the people walking up to you (they’ll be unlicensed and more expensive). Here’s a link to all the busses from Porto Airport to Viana.

• The ‘main drag’ in Viana is the road that extends from the train station down to the water, called Av. dos Combatentes da Grande Guerra. This is where you’ll probably first experience Viana. We live right off the main drag to the left when heading toward the river, on the road that goes along the water. On our side, the road is Largo 5 de Outubro; on the other side, it’s called R. Alves Cerqueira.

Explore Viana

Explore the historic city center

• Take the Santa Luzia Elevator to the top of Santa Luzia, see the view from there (rated as one of the world’s finest views), and visit the ancient city, Santa Luzia Citania, behind it.

• Wander around the streets of historic Viana - shop, eat, have a coffee, relax

  • Check out Praça da República and sit by the fountain, grab a coffee or a wine at the cafe on the corner. This is where a lot of festivals, concerts, and cultural events happen.

  • The Museu do Traje de Viana do Castelo is a great little break to see the historic costumes of the region and get a sense of what the August festivals might look like if you aren’t here during that time.

  • Stop at Manuel Natário bakery right off the Praça da República, just past the costume museum, any day it’s open, starting after lunch, there’s a line for its famous Bolo de Belem. The line moves fast, and it’s totally worth it. Then walk around more to burn off a bit of those calories.

Explore nature here

• Slowly wander the Parque Ecológico Urbano, which is absolutely gorgeous

• Start at the Jardim da Marina/Marginal and walk toward the river beach (Praia Fluvial Barracão dos Touros), and have lunch or a gelato at the restaurant there.

• Spend a few hours walking up and down the ocean paths at Praia Norte.

• Go to the waterfalls around Viana like Poço Negro and Poço Cascudo

• Go across the Eiffel Bridge (also worth seeing) and go to the beach, wander the beach trails, Praia do Cabedelo

Festivals of note

• Viana Street Market - Every Friday (unless another bigger event takes the space), there is a good-sized street market... like the Fremont Sunday Market but bigger. It's interesting for a wander through.

• Fairs at Praça da República - On Saturdays in the months of May, June, July, August, and September, the Municipality's Folklore Groups liven up Praça da República by selling regional products and performing their dances and songs. 

• Market of Discoveries - held at the fort, this festival focuses on the habits and customs characteristic of the Age of Discoveries. Usually the second or third weekend of June.

• Festival d’Agonia - This pilgrimage is the largest, most beautiful, most joyful, and most ‘typical’ festival in Portugal. Usually starts the second weekend or so in August, goes for 11 days. It’s full of vendors, festival rides, food, and drum corps wandering the streets. About 1.5 million people visit the festival. If you are in the area during it, it’s a do-not-miss.

• Christmas - the main drag is lit up, Mariah Carey plays every hour on the hour (the only bad part), and there are plazas decked and lit up with lights with booths selling snacks and dodads… as well as mulled wine. It’s gorgeous. On Christmas Eve, you can take part in the tradition of Moscatel e Banana, where many people hang out in Praça da República and drink Moscatel and eat Bananas. Here’s the event slick for December 2025

Nightlife

While generally pretty quiet and mellow, when there is a festival or one of the popular Futebol teams wins a significant game, things can become quite lively. That said, there are certainly things to do around town, including some excellent beverage and music options.

• Clássico by Cerqueira’s - R. da Picota 64 - Right off of Praça da República, this looks like a small window with some bookcases, but it’s a hidden door into an intimate space that serves some of the best cocktails in town. Highly recommend the charcuterie board.

• Amalia en Viana - R. Gago Coutinho 19 - They have Fado Wednesdays and sometimes Thursdays. We’ve been for dinner, but would also recommend them for a later night Fado experience if they have it available.

• Poço - Bar & Petiscos - R. do Poço 42 - this is a great happy hour and/or later evening spot. Owned by George and frequented by a fair amount of our coworking crew, they have a great selection for mixed drinks, beer on tap, and some nice snacks (we get the sandwiches a lot)

• Ribeiro's Brewers - R. dos Manjovos n38, 326 - a ton of beers from all over, and really good burgers. This can be for dinner or late at night. We tend to go for burgers because Jenn finds the seating (wooden stools) not as comfortable for lounging for a while.

Eat in Viana

This is probably the longest section because we very much enjoy the options Viana has. Anyone who truly knows us won’t be shocked by this at all.

Along the Marina Park on Largo João Tomás da Costa, east of the main drag

• M&F 21 - number 53 - Miguel is the proprietor here and always has a smile on his face. We go here fairly often and pretty much always order the mustard pork. They are open on Mondays!

• Luzzo pizzeria- number 17_21A -  Open on Mondays, they are great for a lovely wood-fired pizza and some wine.

• Restaurante Bota d'Água - number 44 - this is our ‘place that does the fish’ and they do it really, really well. Wonderful staff and a lovely place to celebrate.

In our alleyway, near our apartment along R. de Viana

• Kamy Restaurante - number 74 - our ‘second kitchen’ is in the alleyway of our apartment. We are here at least once a week to visit this family-run Colombian restaurant. The mom, Vanessa, and her children, Sarah (front of house) and Andres (chef), are a joy to know. We love the salmon (the only place in town that does filet style, and the accompanying veggies are some of the best we have had in Portugal. Some other favorites are Patacon con tudo, and the quiche de peixe (fish quiche, lunch only). We’ve always had a great experience here. They are open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Closed Mondays and Sundays for dinner.

• Maria Petisca - really fun place for tapas. They are super friendly and have a great wine list. We typically get a steak plate and share it. Everything here is awesome. They are closed on Mondays.

Near Gil Eannes hospital ship, (west of main drag) along Largo 5 de Outubro and R. Alves Cerqueira

• Casa d’Armas - number 30 - a lovely place to go anytime of year, they serve lovely meat dishes and traditional Portuguese food. A bit of a place to celebrate. Gorgeous interior on colder evenings, or for holiday dinners.

• Restaurante Asturias - we go here fairly often. It’s family-owned with two brothers and a mother. It feels very much like being in someone’s home. We recommend the fried chicken here - it’s awesome and the best in town. We’ve also been here for lunch and had amazing lamb dishes, but we walk in and they pretty much fire up the chicken.

• LUMA Brunch Restaurant - R. Alves Cerqueira 77 - awesome brunch food! There aren’t many brunch-y places in town, so we highly recommend this one.

Stay in Viana

• Casa Melo Alvim - Boutique Hotel, Viana do Castelo -  Av. Conde Carreira 28 - right next to the train station and shopping mall. We’ve stayed here a few times and loved it. The wifi isn’t great in all the rooms, but everything else about the place is wonderful.

• Hotel Laranjeira - R. Cândido dos Reis 45 - they have a few rooms and a really nice restaurant where we had amazing duck confit. Heard from quite a few pilgrims that it was a great stop on their journey.

• Hotel Margarida da Praca - Largo 5 de Outubro 58 -  is right next to our apartment, and we’ve heard good things

• Fábrica do Chocolate | Hotel Chocolataria Museum - R. do Gontim 70 a 76 - Viana has a chocolate museum and hotel, and we’ve heard a few visitors say this place is pretty cool.

• AP Dona Aninhas - Viana do Castelo - Largo Vasco da Gama 38- we haven’t stayed here yet, but have heard great things. The hotel looks lovely, and they have a really nice lunch and brunch, a relaxing lounge, and special holiday dinner menus.

Shop in Viana

Viana has many options for shopping for the basics you need to travel, as well as traditional regional and Portuguese-centric goods. Here are some places we’d recommend for anything you’d need.

• ‘Shopping’/aka the Mall: The train station and mall are right next to each other. Electronics, clothing - whatever you’d need to replace or what you might’ve forgotten for your stay exist here. There is a grocery store (Continente Bom Dia) that can also help with basic skin care, sunscreen, etc. needs.

• Pharmacies - higher-level sunscreen, dental, skin care - those are all found at the pharmacies around town. There’s one in Praça da República that can supply most of anything you’d need.

• Viana-based items:

  • Viana is famous for its jewelry (the Heart of Viana), which can be seen everywhere. Inside the Casa Melo Alvim in reception, there is a lovely display of jewelry, but you’ll see it all around town.

  • During festival season, the various villages bring out their village-specific wardrobes (which you can get a sense of at the Museu do Traje de Viana do Castelo). If you want items like this, we’d suggest Arte VIANA on the main drag, Av. dos Combatentes da Grande Guerra 24.

  • Viana chocolate: You can pick up chocolate at the Fábrica do Chocolate.

Want to view all the places we talk about? Check out our visitors' map.

If you want to know more about Viana, schedule time with us. We'd be more than happy to talk through anything about it.