A Baroque pilgrimage staircase, a ruined Moorish castle, and the cellars of Portugal's most famous sparkling wine, all within a ten-minute walk. Lamego may be small in size but it is big on character, and it is why I always use it as my base when exploring the Douro region.

The town does not sit on the famous Douro River, but 7km to the south on a plateau high above it. While Pinhão and Peso da Régua deal with the cruise boats and the day-trippers, Lamego has stayed a proper working town: a granite cathedral at its heart, and eighteenth-century mansions built on Port wine fortunes lining the streets around it.

Lamego's stand-out attraction is the Santuário de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, with its monumental Baroque staircase that climbs the hillside in 686 zigzagging steps, fronted by statues, fountains and tiled landings. Its design easily rivals the Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga, but few tourists even know it exists. From the summit the old town spreads out below: the tree-lined Avenida, the sombre twelfth-century Sé cathedral, and on the hill opposite, the Moorish castle keep looking down from its ancient vantage point.

What I have always liked about Lamego is its unhurried nature. There are the traditional market stalls selling presunto ham, cafés full of people socialising and evenings spent drinking the local Raposeira sparkling wine. You could rush the sights in three hours, but you would be missing the point. Lamego deserves a slower pace, and it makes a far better base for exploring the Douro than the tourist towns that line its banks.

 

 

Beyond the town, the wider region is genuinely under-visited. A ruined monastery at São João de Tarouca, a fortified medieval bridge at Ucanha, and a tiny Visigothic chapel at São Pedro de Balsemão are all within half an hour's drive, and at most of them you will be the only visitor. Then there is the Alto Douro itself, with its terraced vineyards and quintas stretching out along the river.

I have been exploring Portugal since 2001 and, together with my Portuguese wife, we always choose Lamego as our base for exploring the Douro region. This guide shares what we have learned, so you can plan a visit that does justice to both Lamego itself and the region around it.

The Baroque staircase of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios climbs the wooded hillside above the town in 686 zigzagging steps, past tiled landings, statues and fountains. The pilgrimage church at the top is one of the most elaborate in Portugal, but the real reward is the view back across the Douro hills.

The Sé Cathedral looks like a fortress from the outside, all austere twelfth-century granite and a square Romanesque bell tower. Step inside and you find a Renaissance cloister and a masterful three-dimensional trompe l'oeil ceiling painted by Nicolau Nasoni, the Italian architect who gave Porto its Clérigos tower.

An evening on the grand tree-lined Avenida. Market stalls selling local presunto, a glass of Raposeira at sunset, and the slow pace of a town that has never been in a hurry.

The Museu de Lamego is one of the finest regional museums in Portugal. Housed in the former Bishops' Palace its collection includes five panel paintings by the Renaissance artist Grão Vasco alongside sixteenth-century Flemish tapestries telling the story of Oedipus. On most days you will have whole rooms to yourself.

Lamego can easily be seen in three hours of sightseeing and makes for an enjoyable day trip from Porto, which is how I first saw the town over 20 years ago. Another option, if you have a car, is to combine it with a visit to Peso da Régua and the Baixo Corgo region. I always think Peso da Régua is a bit over-hyped, and suggest visitors take their boat trip from there but head to Lamego or Pinhão afterwards for somewhere much prettier.

For a trip, I would always suggest visiting Lamego early in the day as a visit can include a lot of walking, especially if you want to walk the 686 steps up to the Santuário de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios church. I know first-hand that this climb can be punishing in the heat of summer, having once abandoned the walk after setting off without any water.

Also, if you are day-touring the Douro region, I feel wine tasting at a quinta or a leisurely boat ride is a better activity for an afternoon, after a morning of sightseeing. I personally struggle to find much motivation for sightseeing after a couple of glasses of lunchtime wine. Regarding lunch, I would plan to spend it in Lamego as there are many traditional and well-priced restaurants.

If you are planning a day trip to Lamego and its region, the day could be extended to include the Mosteiro de São João de Tarouca, the first Cistercian monastery built in Portugal. I really like the medieval tower and bridge at Ucanha, which I always add as a detour when heading to São João de Tarouca. Other regional sights include the grand monastery of Salzedas and the Visigothic church of São Pedro de Balsemão.

The interactive map below shows the sights of Lamego and a suggested walking tour. If you zoom out it also shows the location of the sights of the surrounding region.

Sights of Lamego 1) Museu de Lamego 2) Catedral de Lamego 3) Teatro Ribeiro Conceição 4) Cisterna de Lamego 5) Castelo de Lamego 6) Igreja de Santa Maria de Almacave 7) Praça da Avenida Doutor Alfredo de Sousa 8) Capela do Espírito Santo 9) Escadas da Nossa Senhora dos Remédios 10) Pátio dos Reis 11) Santuário de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios 12) Caves da Raposeira

Sights surrounding Lamego (zoom out to view) 1) Mosteiro de São João de Tarouca 2) Torre de Ucanha 3) Mosteiro de Salzedas 4) Capela de São Pedro de Balsemão 5) Peso da Régua 6) Pinhão

If you wish to taste the Raposeira sparkling wines for which the region is famed, visit the Caves da Raposeira (number 12 on the map below).

The historic streets around the castle

Lamego is a very pleasant destination for a stay of a few nights. Lamego has a decent selection of restaurants and bars for a town of its size, and is always bustling with tourist and locals alike.

The town makes for a very good base from which to explore the Douro Valley as it is easy to travel to Peso da Régua (via A24), and there is the scenic N222 road to Pinhão and Tua. A second-day trip could be to the monasteries of São João de Tarouca and Salzedas and the tower at Ucanha, and the third day could visit the Fundação da Casa de Mateus near Vila Real.

The map below shows the location of the best hotels and accommodation in Lamego. If you adjust the dates to your stay, it will display current prices and availability.

The Nossa Senhora dos Remédios is a beautiful Baroque church, with Rococo detailing, that stands at the top of Santo Estêvão hill. The site is an important pilgrimage location, and this tradition originates from before the construction of the church (in 1750), when there was a small chapel dedicated to Saint Stephen.

During the 16th century, the wealthy Lamego church transferred the devotion to the Virgin Mary, and it became a pilgrimage site for the cure of disease. Since then church being known as the Mary of Medicines/Remedies.

The church was designed by northern Portugal's masterful architect, the Italian Nicolau Nasoni, but was only finally completed in 1905.

The baroque stairway to the church has nine levels and passes through the dense forests of the Santo Estêvão Park. Just below the church is the Courtyard of the Kings in which a 14m high obelisk stands.

The sombre granite cathedral dates from 1129, but only the base of the Romanesque bell tower remains from this period. The decorative Manueline exterior was added to the church during the rule of King Manuel I, between 1508 and 1515.

Inside are three naves and impressive altars, but the real attraction is the beautifully painted ceiling (by Nicolau Nasoni). Attached to the cathedral is a Renaissance cloister.

The Museu de Lamego (€3.00) is housed in the former Bishops' Palace and exhibits the religious art collection amassed by the bishops of Lamego.

This museum is regarded as one of the finest regional museums of Portugal and is definitely worthy of a visit. Highlights include 16th-century Flemish tapestries depicting the Oedipus story and five religious artworks by Grão Vasco.

Further details on the collection can be seen on the website: museudelamego.gov.pt

All that remains of this once important Moorish castle is the inner walled keep and a single watchtower.

There are bigger and better castles in Portugal, but it is free to enter, and from the castle's battlements are wonderful views over the town.

The watch tower in the Castelo de Lamego

The view over the Museu de Lamego and cathedral from the castle