Braga divides neatly into two. The old centre is flat, walkable and full of churches, palaces and cafés. The sanctuaries stand on the wooded hills about five kilometres to the east. Beyond the city, the Minho offers one of Portugal’s finest medieval towns, its only national park and the home of Vinho Verde.
Things to see in and around Braga
The sanctuaries on the hills, the old city at their feet and the best days out across the Minho.
The sanctuaries on the hills
The sanctuaries on the hills Bom Jesus do Monte
Portugal’s great baroque stairway
A UNESCO-listed sanctuary on a wooded hill outside Braga, with a zigzag stairway of chapels, fountains and statues climbing to a pale neoclassical church, and a water-powered funicular running alongside.
The sanctuaries on the hills Sameiro Sanctuary
The Marian shrine above the city
A vast 19th and 20th-century Marian sanctuary a little above Bom Jesus, with a huge dome, wide terraces and among the broadest views in the Minho.
In the city
In the city Sé de Braga
The oldest cathedral in Portugal
Begun in the late 11th century, the cathedral layers Romanesque, Gothic, Manueline and baroque. Inside are golden organs, royal tombs and a treasury of the city’s archbishops.
In the city Historic Centre
Fountains, cafés and baroque façades
A flat, largely pedestrian old town of squares and churches, stretching from the Porta Nova arch to Praça da República, with the blue-tiled Palácio do Raio and the flower beds of Santa Bárbara.
In the city Semana Santa
Portugal’s most striking Holy Week
For a week before Easter, the old city is draped in purple and given over to processions by torchlight, including the hooded, barefoot penitents of the Ecce Homo procession.
In the city Biscainhos Palace
An aristocratic house and its garden
A 17th-century noble palace in the old centre, now a museum of how Braga’s elite lived, with azulejos, painted ceilings, a stone-floored carriage entrance and a formal baroque garden.
In the city Roman Braga
The remains of Bracara Augusta
Scattered around the modern city are the bath complex of Alto da Cividade, the rock-cut shrine of Fonte do Ídolo and a fine archaeological museum, all telling the story of Bracara Augusta.
Day trips from Braga
Day trips from Braga 
Day trips from Braga Peneda-Gerês
Portugal’s only national park
A wild granite borderland of oak woods, waterfalls and old stone villages, about an hour from Braga, ideal for walking, swimming and getting away from it all.
Day trips from Braga Vinho Verde Country
The green wines of the Minho
The vineyards of the Vinho Verde region surround Braga and stretch to the Spanish border, producing fresh, light whites, including the celebrated Alvarinho of Monção and Melgaço.
Day trips from Braga Short of time? Put Bom Jesus and the Sé first. Then see our itineraries for how to fit in the rest.
Plan your days in the Minho
See more of Braga with a local guide
A guide brings the sanctuaries and the old streets to life, and a day tour takes the trouble out of reaching Guimarães and the mountains. Compare the options and reserve in a couple of taps.