Catholic and Cultural Must sees on Camino Portuguese from Porto to Santiago

[Marye02]

Hey guys! I'm doing the Central Portuguese Camino in May from Porto to Santiago and am looking for your recommendations on what are the must sees along the way. I am a practicing Catholic so any religious recommendations are especially helpful! Thanks in advance

 

[SabsP]

Hey guys! I'm doing the Central Portuguese Camino in May from Porto to Santiago and am looking for your recommendations on what are the must sees along the way. I am a practicing Catholic so any religious recommendations are especially helpful! Thanks in advance

This is my favourite. Sao Pedro de Rates.

Monastery of Rates - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

São Pedro de Rates | Camino de Santiago Apps and Maps

Directly at the entrance to town sits the most Romanesque church in all of Portugal, the Igreja Românica de Rates. It, and a bell tower, are all that remain of the Benedictine monastery that stood here. Adjacent to the church is the church museum.

www.wisepilgrim.com

 

[Former member 60103]

Stone and Water by Roy Uprichard gives a brief by well written account of the Espiritual Variente which is a worthwhile detour from the Central route in the final days of the Camino Portuguese. It is downloadable on Amazon Kindle.
I am walking the Portuguese starting in a few days time and am seriously considering this "detour" as an addition to the Coastal route from Porto, it will add a day to your final stages.
Buen Camino,
Don.

 

[Wendy Werneth]

Stone and Water by Roy Uprichard gives a brief by well written account of the Espiritual Variente which is a worthwhile detour from the Central route in the final days of the Camino Portuguese. It is downloadable on Amazon Kindle.
I am walking the Portuguese starting in a few days time and am seriously considering this "detour" as an addition to the Coastal route from Porto, it will add a day to your final stages.
Buen Camino,
Don.

Like many others on this forum, I highly recommend the Variante Espiritual, especially the section known as the Ruta da Pedra e da Auga (Stone and Water Route). It was one of the top highlights of my Caminho Português.

 

[Elle Bieling]

@Marye02, do stay at the Albergue de Peregrinos do Mosteiro de Vairão on the first night out of Porto. For me, it was one of the most relaxing and amazing places. Click here to see more photos of it (scroll down).

On the second day, in Barcelos there are two churches you may want to explore, the Templo do Senhor Bom Jesus da Cruz and the Igreja Matriz de Barcelos, go to my day sixteen for more info.

On the next day, the Albergue de São Pedro Fins looks wonderful so if your day would bring you there, I would choose that one.

Plan to spend some time in Valença and Tui. The castle in Valença is amazing and Tui's cathedral as well. We liked Valença so much, we returned to spend more time there after our Caminho!

There are so many little churches and shrines along the way. Plus there are many sections of Roman roads and Roman bridges. SO MUCH to see. If you go to one of my links, you can see a full documentation of this wonderful and more historic route than the coastal.

Happy planning! Elle

 

[MariaSP]

Hey guys! I'm doing the Central Portuguese Camino in May from Porto to Santiago and am looking for your recommendations on what are the must sees along the way. I am a practicing Catholic so any religious recommendations are especially helpful! Thanks in advance

In Pontevedra, you can visit the church of the Virgen Peregrina. Its floor plan is in the shape of a scallop shell.
You can also visit the place where Lucia, one of the 3 children of Fátima (Portugal), had another apparition in 1925.

 

[Mary Doll]

@Marye02, do stay at the Albergue de Peregrinos do Mosteiro de Vairão on the first night out of Porto. For me, it was one of the most relaxing and amazing places. Click here to see more photos of it (scroll down).

On the second day, in Barcelos there are two churches you may want to explore, the Templo do Senhor Bom Jesus da Cruz and the Igreja Matriz de Barcelos, go to my day sixteen for more info.

On the next day, the Albergue de São Pedro Fins looks wonderful so if your day would bring you there, I would choose that one.

Plan to spend some time in Valença and Tui. The castle in Valença is amazing and Tui's cathedral as well. We liked Valença so much, we returned to spend more time there after our Caminho!

There are so many little churches and shrines along the way. Plus there are many sections of Roman roads and Roman bridges. SO MUCH to see. If you go to one of my links, you can see a full documentation of this wonderful and more historic route than the coastal.

Happy planning! Elle

Thanks for posting this Elle. I am planning to walk from Porto to Santiago on the central route in May/June and was planning to stay at Mosteiro de Vairão on my first day. I’m looking forward to reading your blog as I really don’t know much about this route but felt it would be more interesting than the coastal route.

 

[Albertinho]

Thanks for posting this Elle. I am planning to walk from Porto to Santiago on the central route in May/June and was planning to stay at Mosteiro de Vairão on my first day. I’m looking forward to reading your blog as I really don’t know much about this route but felt it would be more interesting than the coastal route.

Hmm. Leaving from Porto to Vairão you will walk a lot of roadwalking through the suburbs of Porto and on the hardshoulder of very busy roads After Maia it will be more rural but then you will be almost there
That’s the reason that the lot of the Pilgrims take the coastal route .But I agree with Elle that o mosteiro de Vairão is a nice place
I have been twice there and the manager, Carla, is a very kind lady.

You could take the metro to Maia and walk from there to Vairão as an alternative .
From Vairão and Vilarinho you walk into a nice rural landscape to São Pedro de Rates.

 

[Elle Bieling]

Hmm. Leaving from Porto to Vairão you will walk a lot of roadwalking through the suburbs of Porto and on the hardshoulder of very busy roads After Maia it will be more rural but then you will be almost there
That’s the reason that the lot of the Pilgrims take the coastal route .But I agree with Elle that o mosteiro de Vairão is a nice place
I have been twice there and the manager, Carla, is a very kind lady.

You could take the metro to Maia and walk from there to Vairão as an alternative .
From Vairão and Vilarinho you walk into a nice rural landscape to São Pedro de Rates.

I guess I am one of those strange pilgrims who do not mind walking on the roads through cities. In fact, I actually enjoy it because there are so many distractions to look at. And you never know when you will pass a Pastel de Nata bakery where you can bop in and scarf one down! Ha ha! My favorite!

I do agree, however, with @Albertinho that it is more lovely to take the Senda Litoral, along the river out of Porto, not the actual Coastal Route which is also through similar suburbs of Porto. The Senda Litoral is along roads as well, and it is also on pavement. You can click either link here to see the difference. However one chooses to leave Porto, my suggestion is always to just walk it!

 

[Albertinho]

Who does not like pasteís de nata yummm
My favorit Portuguese custard pastery
As nice as our Dutch stroopwafels.

The pasteís de nata they sell and serve t with a cafezinho at the coastal as well

 

[peregrina2000]

Hey guys! I'm doing the Central Portuguese Camino in May from Porto to Santiago and am looking for your recommendations on what are the must sees along the way. I am a practicing Catholic so any religious recommendations are especially helpful! Thanks in advance

This is not a religious recommendation, but if you walk out of Porto through Matosinhos, a guided tour of an operating sardine canning factory (which is one of two left in Portugal that is not mechanized) is a really interesting treat. See my description here.

 

[David Tallan]

Hey guys! I'm doing the Central Portuguese Camino in May from Porto to Santiago and am looking for your recommendations on what are the must sees along the way. I am a practicing Catholic so any religious recommendations are especially helpful! Thanks in advance

From a religious Catholic perspective, it would seem to me that the sights associated with Saint James would be top of the list. After all, you are walking to visit his relics. The chief sites from this perspective are in Padrón: the mooring stone to which the boat carrying his remains was attached when the remains were brought to Spain and Santiaguiño do Monte chapel at the top of the hill across the river which marks where St. James preached to the Iberians. I'm not a religious Catholoc myself, but that how it seems to me.

 

[Enzed]

Hmm. Leaving from Porto to Vairão you will walk a lot of roadwalking through the suburbs of Porto and on the hardshoulder of very busy roads After Maia it will be more rural but then you will be almost there
That’s the reason that the lot of the Pilgrims take the coastal route .But I agree with Elle that o mosteiro de Vairão is a nice place
I have been twice there and the manager, Carla, is a very kind lady.

You could take the metro to Maia and walk from there to Vairão as an alternative .
From Vairão and Vilarinho you walk into a nice rural landscape to São Pedro de Rates.

Albertinho, of one were to choose between Vairao and rates, which would be the best place to stay?