Things to Do in Braga, Braga, Portugal (B)

The small Portuguese town of Braga was never on my travel list, but as underrated cities are wont to do, it proved to be a fantastic worthwhile day trip from Porto. With quite a few really interesting sites, this is a must see in northern Portugal.

Perhaps more than any other place I’ve ever visited, Braga has some really memorable gardens. You can spot the colorful flowers and trimmed hedges around many of the city’s squares. But none is more beautiful than the Garden of Santa Barbara which sits in front of the fortlike, Episcopal Palace. The wide stretch of flowers includes colorful blooms of yellow, purple and red. There’s a fountain in the center and geometric hedges lining the sidewalks. I’m not often impressed by gardens, but damn. This alone is a good reason to visit Braga in the spring and summer.

Though it’s only about 3 miles from city center, you may have to take a car or bus up to this gem of a santuary because the route is over highways. It’s more like a complex than a building to see, so this could take some time. The bus (line 2) takes you to the base of it. You won’t even be able to see it from the bottom because of the trees. From here, you can take the funicular up and down, which runs continuously all day. It’s the oldest functional funicular that uses a water balance system. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).