Viseu Historic Centre

Viseu's old town climbs to a square where two buildings face each other in complete contrast: the cathedral, granite and heavy, Romanesque in origin with a Gothic vault of knotted Manueline ribs and a two-storey cloister, and the Misericórdia church opposite, white and blue rococo with a light front, built in the 1770s. Between them the square is one of the best in northern Portugal. Beside the cathedral, in the former bishop's palace, is the Museu Grão Vasco, holding the work of Vasco Fernandes and the Viseu school of painting from around 1500 - including the fourteen panels made for the cathedral altarpiece, of which the Adoration of the Magi is known for including a Brazilian indigenous figure among the kings, painted within a decade of the Portuguese arrival there. The lanes below hold the old Jewish quarter and city gates.

What you actually see

• The cathedral square - heavy granite cathedral facing a white rococo church.
• The Grão Vasco museum - the Viseu school panels, including the Adoration of the Magi.
• The knotted vault - Manueline rib work over the cathedral nave.
• The old lanes - the Jewish quarter and surviving city gates below the square.

When to go

April to October. Half a day. The museum closes on Mondays; the cathedral closes over lunch.

Honest expectations

The old town is a steep climb, though escalators help from the lower city. Museum and cathedral hours do not align, so plan the order. Viseu is inland and can be very hot in summer. Parking in the upper town is impractical.

Nearby

The Dão wine region surrounds the city; Serra do Caramulo is west.