Braga

Braga is a large, historic town with many sites to explore and it’s worth allowing a day or two for tourism before starting the camino. Additionally, Henrique Malheiro, one of the co-authors of the Geira guidebook, lives in Braga, is a wealth of information on the route and is happy to share this knowledge with pilgrims before they set out. He can be contacted on +351 963 934 583.

One site to single out is São Frutuoso, a funerary chapel built in AD 660 by the eponymous bishop of Braga. It was later modified in the high Middle Ages and experts debate whether the dominant architectural features date from the original Visigothic building or the Mozarabic modification. In any case, the remaining original aspects make it the most important pre-Romanesque Christian building in Portugal and it’s a very atmospheric place to visit. São Frutuoso is on the camino about 25 minutes’ walk from the Braga cathedral, but it’s only open 2pm-4:30pm Tue-Sun so it’s best visited the day before setting out.