Monção

As you continue north toward the border leaving Arcos de Valdevez, you are treated to glorious landscapes and quaint little villages. After about 17 kilometers watch for a panoramic vista point toward the Serra de Peneda to the east and the Lima Valley to the south. Twelve kilometers later you pass the large 19th-century Palacio da Brejoeira on your left. Soon thereafter you reach the border town of Monção, on the bank of the Minho. Being on the border with Spain, Moncão is a fortified town with a long history of heroic defense of the Portuguese frontier. The town has two main squares, the Praça da República and the Praça Deu-la-Deu, named in honor of Senhora Deuladeu Martins who saved the town against the Spanish in the 14th century. She accomplished this feat by giving bread to the Spanish invader, Henry II of Castile, who thought that if the town had so much surplus food, it would never surrender—he called off his troops and left the town in peace. The ruins of a 14th-century castle also attest to Monção’s strategic location. Be sure to pay a visit to the pretty interior of the Romanesque parish church, which dates back to the 13th century. The town is also famous as a source of vinho verde, the youthful regional wine.