Beira Alta

Beira Alta is a historic province of the Central region of Portugal. The chief cities/district capitals are Guarda and Viseu.

• 🌍 Almeida — municipality containing the important border town of Vilar Formoso
• 🌍 Gouveia — take the path to the highest geographical point of continental Portugal, with astonishing views over the valley
• 🌍 Guarda — its medieval cathedral was built in the Gothic and Manueline styles
• 🌍 Mangualde — inland city with an artificial sandy beach
• 🌍 Moimenta da Beira — famous for the production of wine and apples
• 🌍 Oliveira do Hospital — city with ancient civilization sights
• 🌍 Pinhel — it has one of the more important castles along the Côa River Valley
• 🌍 Sabugal — city along the River Côa with a Gothic castle
• 🌍 Santa Comba Dão — riverside city
• 🌍 Sernancelhe — with a 12th-century church
• 🌍 Viseu — a charming hilltop city with a fine historic quarter, its Romanesque and Gothic cathedral is one of the finest in Portugal

• Côa Valley — an open-air Paleolithic archaeological site with thousands of engraved rock drawings of horses, bovines and other animals, human and abstract figures, dated from 22,000 to 10,000 years BCE

Beira Alta (BAY-ruh AHL-tuh, /ˈbɐj.ɾɐ ˈaɫ.tɐ/)

Mostly rural, except for Guarda & Viseu. Beautiful mountains (Serra da Estrela, Caramulo, Marofa). Tranquil rivers of (Mondego, Coa, Vouga, Paiva, Dao), gorgeous meadows, pinewood forest and castles along Terras de Riba-Coa (Pinhel, Almeida, Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo (cattle and almond trees) and Sabugal area).

Train from Vilar Formoso- Guarda-Pampilhosa-Coimbra. Motorway A25 (Viseu-Aveiro-Guarda).

Cathedral and museums in Viseu: Museu Gao Vasco.

• Guarda (Se/cathedral), castle of Pinhel & Sabugal Castle.

• São Pedro do Sul (spa/town)/Vouga valley.
• Parque arqueologico do vale do Coa rupestre - pre-historic art
• Ski during winter in Estrela Mountain, Loriga, Seia, Torre.

Queijo da Serra (hard cheese).

Wines, Dao & Pinhel.

Considered one of the safest in Portugal.

• Coimbra
• Aveiro
• Porto
• Lamego — historic city, near Douro river
• Monsanto — in Beira Baixa
• Salamanca, Spain