This morning, I have been sorting photos from my files. I was looking at some old family photos that my son told me he needed a few days ago. And I came across some photos from a trip we made several years ago to Portugal, and in particular, a quick one-night visit to the city of Viana do Castelo.

And It seemed appropriate to make a blog and save some of the photos on the Blockchain.

We arrived in the city by train from Lisbon. And as soon as we arrived, I knew we were going to like the city because of the train station. It is small but gorgeous.

_{Train station Viana do Castelo}

We arrived in the early afternoon. And after leaving our luggage at the hotel where we were staying, we went back to the train station. From there, you can take the funicular that takes you to the top of the Santa Luzia mountain. Where you can find one of the biggest attractions of the city, the Santuário do Monte de Santa Luzia. You can also get there by car or on foot.

_{Santuário do Monte de Santa Luzia - Viana do Castelo}

The Byzantine-style church is an icon of the city, and its construction was inspired by the Sacre Coeur in Paris. The church is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

_{Santuário do Monte de Santa Luzia - Viana do Castelo}

Among my photos, I couldn't get any of the interiors of the church. But I did get some of the breathtaking views that can be seen from the outside at the top of the hill.

_{View from Monte do Santa Luzia}

From the hill of Santa Luzia, we could admire a breathtaking view of the estuary of the river Lima, the harbor of Viana do Castelo, and the exit to the Atlantic Ocean.

_{View from Monte do Santa Luzia}

The river Lima, which runs through Viana do Castelo until it flows into the Atlantic Ocean, has its source in Galicia, Spain, in the province of Ourense.

_{View of Lima River from Monte do Santa Luzia}

We walked down the hill and spent the rest of the afternoon strolling around the city. Viana do Castelo has that air as if time passes more slowly and the people live without haste. And I liked it very much.

_{Viana do Castelo}

We passed the post office building and walked to the city center. The yellow building you can see in more detail in the photo below is the Museu do Traje, which we did not enter.

_{Museu do Traje - Viana do Castelo}

We were in the Praça da República, which is the heart of the city center.

_{Praça da República - Viana do Castelo}

I don't remember the name of the place where we dined, but I remember we had a grilled octopus that was delicious.

Then we walked around the city at night.

_{Viana do Castelo}

And we went to the port where we could see the Gil Eannes ship illuminated, which used to be a hospital ship and is now a museum.

_{Gil Eannes museum ship - Viana do Castelo}

And that's as far as I remember our visit to Viana do Castelo. The next morning we took a train to Porto and from there to Galicia.

Thank you for reading!

_{All images and writing are my own unless otherwise stated.
All photos were taken in our visit to Viana do Castelo in July 2010.}

© CoquiCoin

May 16, 2022