The Highest City

Guarda

Serra da Estrela, schist villages and granite towers. Guarda watches over the border from Portugal's highest city, between snow and ancestral pastures.

245 Parishes

14 Municipalities

143K Inhabitants

01

The Grand Route
of Guarda

A journey through the most emblematic municipalities

1

Guarda

Guarda

854 m above the Beira plain, Guarda’s granite lanes, triple walls and Gothic cathedral guard the fro

2

União das freguesias de Celorico (São Pedro e Santa Maria) e Vila Boa do Mondego

Celorico da Beira

União das freguesias de Celorico (São Pedro e Santa Maria) e Vila Boa do Mondego

Serra da Estrela views, thistle-curd cheese and torch-lit medieval parades in Celorico da Beira–Vila

3

Fornos de Algodres

Fornos de Algodres

Fornos de Algodres

Granite mills, 32 lime-kilns and a wood-fired goat tradition breathe life into this Beira village.

4

Gouveia

Gouveia

At 1,526 m in Serra da Estrela, Gouveia trades in wind-sharp air, melting Serra cheese & slow-roast

5

Manteigas (Santa Maria)

Manteigas (Santa Maria)

Dawn oak-wood curls above schist roofs where Serra da Estrela cheese ages and shepherds once timed m

6

São Romão

São Romão

1,096 m village where winter bites vines into Dão’s boldest wines and cheese ages in silent schist c

7

União das freguesias de Aguiar da Beira e Coruche

Aguiar da Beira

União das freguesias de Aguiar da Beira e Coruche

Manueline doorway, bronze bells, Serra cheese—eight-kilometre loop links two quiet villages.

8

União das freguesias de Trancoso (São Pedro e Santa Maria) e Souto Maior

União das freguesias de Trancoso (São Pedro e Santa Maria) e Souto Maior

Walk the 2.2 m gates, hear the 1718 bell, taste chanfana in Portugal’s highest walled town

9

Pinhel

Pinhel

Follow echoing bells into schist alleys, climb castle walls above Côa olive terraces and taste Serra

10

Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo

Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo

Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo

Morning light slices slate roofs; wind carries fig sap, rockrose and stories of border sieges

02

All Municipalities
of Guarda

14 municipalities to explore

Aguiar da Beira

Aguiar da Beira

10 parishes

Almeida

Almeida

16 parishes

Celorico da Beira

Celorico da Beira

16 parishes

Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo

Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo

10 parishes

Fornos de Algodres

Fornos de Algodres

12 parishes

Gouveia

Gouveia

16 parishes

Guarda

Guarda

43 parishes

Manteigas

Manteigas

4 parishes

Mêda

Mêda

11 parishes

Pinhel

Pinhel

18 parishes

Sabugal

Sabugal

30 parishes

Seia

Seia

24 parishes

Trancoso

Trancoso

21 parishes

Vila Nova de Foz Côa

Vila Nova de Foz Côa

14 parishes

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