A European holiday destination that's safe, unique and home to many historical sites - that's Guimaraes in Portugal for you. The medieval town, a landlocked area, some 65 km inland of Porto, has been named the Green Capital of Europe for 2026, thanks to its commitment to sustainability, urban greening, and climate neutrality targets.
This is also the year Guimaraes celebrates 25 years of being a UNESCO heritage site.
Guimaraes is simply packed with history. It was the 12th-century birthplace of Portugal as well as its capital back in time. There is a huge sign with the words 'Aqui Nasceu Portugal', meaning "Portugal was born here". The town bears all the distinctive marks of a medieval settlement even now; the streets in the town square are cobbled, some of the windows are mullioned, the 10th-century Guimaraes Castle, mostly in ruins now, looks both imposing and forbidding. As the tourist walks down the narrow winding lanes, peering into its old-fashioned cafes and new-fangled pubs and restaurants (including a Michelin-starred eatery) sitting cheek by jowl, it doesn't take long to realise that Guimaraes exudes charm by the bucketful.
One of Portugal's wonders
A summer's day in GoslarSettled in the late Chalcolithic period, Guimaraes is one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal and the birthplace of Portugal's first king, Afonso Henriques. The town was also the site of Roman occupation - a stone dedicated to Roman emperor Trajan suggests that this was a spa town in Roman times.
A stone's throw away from Guimaraes Castle stands the Palace of the Dukes of Braganza, a 15th-century stately pile with a museum featuring tapestries, furniture, and weapons. This being Portugal, you cannot have a town, historical or not, without churches. The prominent churches of the town are the Sao Francisco church, the Santos Passos church, the church of Sao Miguel do Castelo and The Church of Our Lady of Oliveira.
The town has several rivers flowing gently through it, Selho, Vizela, and the Costa-Couros. It was famous for its leather tanneries in the 19th and 20th centuries but now there are just empty cemented slots where the tanneries used to stand.
Guimaraes is also a university town - it's home to University of Minho and, therefore, dotted with young people walking briskly along, standing at street corners for a quick pow-wow, quaffing Tortas de Guimaraes, a sweet, squash and almond-filled pastry, or downing a glass of Vinho Verde (Portuguese wine) or good old craft beer in one of the town's two main squares. Both the squares are delightful, with chairs and tables under sun umbrellas, the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafting in the air, and if the tourist is lucky, a day market selling lace, glassware and bric-a-brac. Oh, and for shoppers, the town is famous for its textiles, particularly, a traditional type of embroidery known as Bordado de Guimaraes.