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Municipality in Centro, Portugal
Photo: Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Viseu is a charming hilltop city and district capital (around 53,000 inhabitants) in central Portugal. It is situated in the Beira Alta between the mountain ranges of the Serra da Estrela and Serra do Caramulo, about halfway between Aveiro and Guarda off the new A25 Motorway right in the middle of the famous Dão wine region.
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Catedral de Viseu, Viseu Cathedral
Romanesque/Gothic with a cloister, built on granite rocks. Walk around the Sé to fully appreciate this. Construction of the church began in the 12th century. It is the most important historical monument of the town. It is a mix of architectural styles, especially from the Manueline, Renaissance and Mannerist periods.
Rossio
It has fountains, azulejos, the 19th-century Town Hall, and Igreja dos Terceiros de São Francisco.
18th-century church.
Grão Vasco National Museum
This national museum is named after one of the most important Portuguese painters of the Renaissance, Vasco Fernandes (also known as the Grão Vasco), who had his workshop in Viseu.
Perhaps Portugal's most out-of-the-way Michelin-starred restaurant, Mesa de Lemos is in a modern building in the midst of a mountain vineyard. Chef Diogo Rocha combines ingredients from the estate's vegetable garden, from elsewhere in Viseu, and even from Iceland (the cod) to create simple, tasty Portuguese dishes.
Hotel Avenida
Two-star, 29-room hotel.
Four-star, 108-room hotel.
Three-star, 30-room hotel.
Three-star, 86-room hotel.
Five-star, 172-room hotel.
Four-star, 27-room hotel.
Albergaria José Alberto
Three-star, 32-room inn.
Four-star, 43-room hotel.
Three-star inn.
HI Viseu
19-room youth hostel.
Four-star, 84-room hotel.
Four-star, 12-room inn.
By plane
Porto airport (OPO) is the nearest international airport, about 1 3/4 hours away by car.
By car: signposting for the city centre is good. There is an inner ring road with 12 roundabouts giving access to the inner city at frequent intervals.
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Viseu · Regional · VSE
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