Chaves has been a border town for two thousand years, and it still has the look of one. It lies in the broad Tâmega valley in northern Portugal, a few kilometres from Spain, with a Roman bridge over the river, Trajan's Bridge, built in the first century and still carrying foot traffic. The Romans came for the hot springs, which they called Aquae Flaviae, after the emperor Flavius Vespasian, and the water that rises in the town at over seventy degrees is still used in the spa today.
The old centre is compact and handsome, with a medieval keep, balconies of painted wood and a square lined with arcades. The town has a good reputation for smoked meats, and the local ham, the presunto de Chaves, and the sausages, alheiras and chouriços, are known all over Portugal. Pastéis de Chaves, small pastries filled with minced veal, are the town's signature snack, and a coffee and one of these on the square is a good way to begin. Hot-spring baths are open for visitors who want to soak after the miles.
For riders, Chaves is the northern start of the Estrada Nacional 2, the old road that crosses the length of Portugal for about seven hundred kilometres to Faro in the south, often called Portugal's Route 66. The first section climbs through the hills of Trás-os-Montes, the land behind the mountains, with chestnut woods, granite villages, terraced vineyards and small farms. The road is often twisting and narrow, with good tarmac in most places and the occasional patch that is rough. Traffic is light, and in the quiet stretches you may see more livestock than cars. Autumn brings gold in the vines and mist in the valleys, while winter can be icy.
Fuel is no concern in Chaves, a town of about seventeen thousand with several stations and supermarkets. Santa Cruz, close by, is smaller. Further south, there are long gaps between villages, so fill up whenever you pass a station. Cafes and tascas, small family restaurants, in the villages serve a plain hearty meal at fair prices.
The nights can be cold even in late spring, and the weather in the north of Portugal is wetter than people expect, so pack waterproofs.