Estrada Nacional 2: Viseu to Abrantes

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Viseu

   Viseu sits on a granite plateau in the middle of northern Portugal, and for a rider on the Estrada Nacional 2 it makes a natural halfway point between the Douro and the Tagus. It is a handsome, orderly city of about twenty-six thousand within its core, with a cathedral square, a medieval centre of granite houses, and a long reputation for good living. The city is the capital of the Dão wine region, whose reds, based on the Touriga Nacional grape, are some of the most elegant in Portugal, and the vineyards lie on the sheltered slopes around it, protected by mountains from the Atlantic rain.

   Read the complete Viseu write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Viseu is where the day begins. Next is Coimbra.

2. 2. Coimbra

   Coimbra is a hill town that happens to hold one of the oldest universities in Europe. The old city climbs up from the Mondego river in a tangle of steep, cobbled lanes, with the university buildings at the summit, and in the evenings the sound of fado drifts down from taverns and small squares. The Coimbra version of fado is different from the Lisbon one, sung traditionally by men, often students in black capes, and tied to serenades beneath windows.

   Read the complete Coimbra write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Coimbra comes up about 91 km into the recorded legs. Next is Abrantes.

3. 3. Abrantes

   Abrantes stands on a hill above the Tagus, the longest river in the Iberian peninsula, at the point where the water leaves the rocky uplands and enters the wide plains of the Ribatejo. It is a town of about thirteen thousand people, built around a ruined castle with a long view over the river, and it was an important fortress guarding the route from Lisbon to Spain for centuries. In 1807, Napoleon's general Junot, who led the first French invasion of Portugal, took the town, and Napoleon rewarded him with the title Duke of Abrantes.

   Read the complete Abrantes write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   The route ends here after 199 km.