| Trás-os-Montes |
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Charming and romantic Trás-os-Montes hotels, rural retreats, boutique hotels, luxury hotels, romantic getaways, small hotels, bed & breakfasts
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Choose from our selection of romantic and charming Tras-os-Montes hotels and accommodation by clicking on the map or list on the right. These will highlight a wide selection of Tras-os-Montes hotels, including romantic hotels, quintas, bed & breakfasts, manor houses amongst others. Whatever your taste, we’ll help you find that perfect getaway.
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| Click on hotel icons on map or see all Trás-os-Montes hotels |
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Bed & Breakfast |
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City Break |
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Cottage/Apartment |
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Countryside |
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Luxury Hotel |
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Manor House |
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Mountain Hotel |
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Parador |
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Pousada |
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Riad / Dar |
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Rural |
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Seaside |
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Spa |
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Village |
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| All hotels have been personally visited by member of our management. ask our advice |
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| Literally meaning the land “Behind the Mountains”, Trás-os-Montes is a mysterious and distant land, even to the Portuguese themselves. Cut off and isolated from the rest of the country for centuries, it was largely free to develop its own idiosyncratic customs, dialects and beliefs. Certain areas, such as Mirandela, even have their own unique language. Many people escaping persecution found Trás-os-Montes a safe haven where they could freely practice their beliefs, including Jews escaping the inquisition. Even today, Trás os Montes retains a certain remoteness that makes it, perhaps, the least known region in the whole of Portugal. Yet it is blessed with some marvellous and rugged granite scenery, numerous rivers, natural lakes and truly powerful landscapes. A striking and undiscovered region that is definitely off the beaten track. |
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| The region retains numerous vestiges of pre-historic and Palaeolithic activity, including the Castro of Curalha, near Chaves, where we can still see walls and some foundations of cylindrical houses. The remote capital of Trás-os-Montes, actually gave its name to the last Portuguese Monarchic dynasty – the House of Bragança – that ruled Portugal from 1640 until the establishment of the Republic in 1910. Trás-os-Montes was also the first region to take up arms against the French invasion in 1808. In many respects since then the remoteness of the region meant that it passed by the margins of the country’s history, though European community funds for agriculture and transport infrastructure is currently aiding progress and modernisation. |
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Fiestas
Many of the festivities in Trás os Montes combine pagan heritage with Christian ritual. The visitor will note that masks also seem to play an important role. Many believe that the spirits of the dead return to the land of the living and so villagers use rather weird looking and frightening masks to scare off evil spirits at certain times of the year. And frightening they certainly are. Young boys marking their rites of passage, for example, put on masks, dress in multicoloured suits with cowbells and rampage through the houses in the Festa dos Rapazes (between 26 December and 6 January). The Santa Barbara Festivities on the Sunday after the 15th of August (Miranda) are famous for the dance of the Pauliteiros, a sort of Morris dancing where men wearing white flannel attire and hats decked out with flowers, each carrying two sticks, perform a dance.
Handicrafts
One of the most important regional crafts is black pottery, which is pewter in colour and mainly found in the region of Vila Real and Chaves. Basket weaving also has a, somewhat, less limited representation in Trás os Montes.
Monuments
Many will find the pre-historic boulder at Pedra Bolideira near Chaves, which is classified a national monument, and the relatively nearby Outeiro Machado with its prehistoric signs shapes and symbols, sites of magic and mystery. One of the emblematic symbols of the town of Chaves is the old Roman bridge built by the Emperor Trajan in AD 98, which is still in current use! Vila Real boasts the Cathedral and São Brás Chapel (Gothic); churches of São Pedro and Misericórdia (16th century), São Dinis (16th-18th centuries) and the Baroque Capela Nova and Clérigos Church. Also nearby is the famous Mateus Palace, a Baroque masterpiece, which holds cultural events. It is better known around the world as the label of the famous Mateus Rose wine. Bragança has the singular “Domus Municipalis” a rather strange building as well as a rare example of Romanesque civic architecture.
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| Trás-os-Montes has retained its hearty and simple way of cooking, which is, by and large, meat based. Fish, particularly sea fish, is somewhat less common than in the coastal regions though one of the specialities of Chaves is boiled octopus, which is eaten for Christmas lunch. Peasant stews and sausages are popular in Trás-os-Montes and, interestingly, chestnuts are sometimes used as a substitute for potatoes. Those trying the “Feijoada à Transmontana\", a heavy bean stew using all sorts of pig parts are liable to require a siesta afterwards. It is not for the fainthearted. The same can be said for “Cozida à portuguesa” a pot-pouri of boiled meat and vegetables, which if accompanied by a heavy red wine will, in all probability, leave one rather sleepy. The sausages here are also of repute. Chouriço is the most common although other variations include the paio, linguiça, and salpicão. Don’t forget to try the delicious broa, a heavy yellowish corn bread that can be almost a meal unto itself. |
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| Trás os Montes is a fine area for trekking and hiking. The natural parks of Alvão, Douro Internacional and Montesinho, for example, are all excellent choices and have numerous trails catering for many levels. Trás os Montes is also blessed with fine spas. The spa of Vidago is located in attractive grounds, though it closes in winter. The spa in Chaves, on the other hand, is open all year and here visitors can take to the water, which emerges at a piping hot 73º. Drinking it may not be a particularly good idea as it has plenty of sodium bicarbonate. Still, a dip might make you feel ten years younger. |
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