Ponte de Lima, a village that, like Xinzo de Limia, honors its river and has the title of “oldest village in Portugal”, awarded by Queen Dona Teresa in 1125. The historic center of Ponte de Lima can be explored on foot and has a wide variety of points of interest related to the archaeological, architectural and religious heritage, symbols of its magnificent and extensive history.

As the capital of “green wine”, it has an Interpretation and Promotion Center, which brings together wines from the entire Vinho Verde region. In Ponte do Lima passes the inland portuguese road, or Caminho de Torres, which connects Braga to Compostela. The Roman and Medieval bridge (classified as a national monument), has two sections, a Roman one from the 1st century and another medieval of the 14th century. Both make up a total of 380 meters, being an Ex-libris in the heart of the historic centre. In memory of the passage of the Roman legion that tried to cross the river of “oblivion” (another parallelism with Xinzo), a figure of a Roman general calls his legionaries located on the other side of the river “Lethes”.

Nearby, another statue, this one of peasants, deserves attention. It is the allegorical sculpture of Feiras Novas and Folklore. Other monuments you can find are: the tribute to the Vaca das Cordas, the memorial to the “Heroes of the Overseas” or the before mentioned statue of D. Teresa.

Not far away, Largo de Camões allows you to feel the pulse of life in the historic centre. Another must-visit point is the 16th century mother church (in 1932 the neo-gothic rose window was introduced, inspired by the Church of São Francisco in Porto) Opposite, the Mercy church, whose current layout resulted from the opening of Rua Cardeal Saraiva and divided the old hospital building in two. Other elements to highlight are the Paços do Concelho or City Hall, Praça da República, Torre da Cadeia Velha (Old Prison Tower, today an Interactive Tourism Store) and the São Paulo tower, which were part of the medieval wall built by Pedro I (14th century) and that it had 9 towers and 6 doors.

Ponte de Lima, like the Galician town of Allariz, boasts of being a “flowery” city, a place for landscaping and extolling the beauty of its gardens. Good examples are the Dr. Adelino Sampaio, Jardim dos Terceiros, Parque da Guia, Avenida dos Plátanos, Parque do Arnado and the International Festival of Gardens. Finally, the Paço do Marquês, with the appearance of a fortress and where the Military History Interpretation Center is now located, complements an unmissable visit to the city where the Lima River stands out.