Braga is Portugal's most religious city, and also one of its oldest. It was founded by the Romans as Bracara Augusta in the first century BC, became a Christian bishopric in late antiquity, and has been a seat of the Church ever since. Its cathedral, begun in the eleventh century, is the oldest in the country and mixes Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque, and the city's skyline is a thicket of church towers. During Holy Week, its processions, with hooded penitents and torchlit marches, are among the most intense in Portugal.
On the hill east of the centre, the sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte reaches its church by a vast Baroque staircase that zigzags up the slope, each landing with fountains, statues and chapels representing the senses and the virtues. Many pilgrims climb it on their knees; most visitors take the old water-balanced funicular, which has run since 1882. A little further up the hill, the sanctuary of Sameiro offers wide views over the Minho plain. Both are an easy ride from the centre.
For riders, Braga is a gateway. To the north and east lie the granite hills of the Minho and the Peneda-Gerês National Park, with winding roads, stone villages and wild horses, and the roads leading into the hills are among the best in northern Portugal. Southwest, the motorway to Porto takes under an hour. In town, traffic can be thick and drivers fast, with narrow streets in the old centre and plenty of roundabouts. Rain falls often in this green corner of Portugal, particularly from autumn to spring, and the stone setts are slippery when wet.
Fuel is plentiful in a city of more than a hundred and twenty thousand, with stations on the ring roads and highway junctions. Cafés fill the central squares, and local specialities include bacalhau prepared in dozens of ways, rojões, fried pork with potatoes, and sweet pudim do Abade de Priscos, a rich pudding with bacon fat and port. Wines from the region, vinho verde, are young, light and slightly fizzy, ideal with fried fish.
Late afternoon is lovely, when the bells ring and the light turns amber on the stone.