Unveil Portugal's Birthplace: Braga & Guimarães Tour with Lunch

Our tour guide Pedro Pais was awesome! Very knowledgeable and personable. Our entire day delivered more value than we expected. We walked through the medieval walls of Braga, and charming village of Guimaires, where we were provided with a delicious generous lunch at a traditional Portugese family restaurant, and a tour of the beautiful Bom Jesus Basilica and sanctuary grounds. Thank you Pedro for guiding a delightfully perfect day! Joanne and Michael, Vancouver Island, Canada

Our all day outing to Braga and Guimarães started with Vitor picking us up at our designated pickup spot near the Palácio da Bolsa. Vitor's cheerfulness and high energy was apparent. With Vitor leading our group, he freely shared historical context and additional insight on all things Portuguese. Vitor was a very safe driver and we had a total of four persons in the 12 passenger Mercedes van he was driving. Before heading to Braga city center, we first visited the Bom Jesus do Monte, a Catholic shrine located high on a hill. To reach the church, you have the option of climbing 583 steps, or taking the oldest water-powered funicular in Europe, or driving to the top. The view is incredible from the top, and after seeing the beautiful church sanctuary, we continued our trip to Braga. Before lunch, we visited the remarkable Braga Cathedral which is a mixture of architectural types. It is the oldest cathedral in Portugal, boasting 9 centuries of history. The baroque organ was magnificent, a real marvel and Vitor really highlighted many other interesting features within this old church. Afterwards, we drove to a restaurant for a traditional Portuguese lunch where they served us fish, pork and veal dishes with wine. It was a lovely lunch and a chance to talk about all the amazing sites we had visited. After lunch, we spent the afternoon visiting several ancient sites including Guimarães Castle, a 10th-century fortress and a site where templar knights were buried. The city hosts many devotees on their pilgrimages which I found fascinating. Lastly we had some time to look in a few shops before returning to Porto around 5:30 pm. This tour was really an excellent grounding in Portuguese history and visiting such a noteworthy set of churches and castles coupled with Vitor's extensive knowledge of the region made it a day we will not forget! Thanks Vitor for sharing your extensive knowledge and love of Portugal!!

Our guide Pedro was very kind ,polite informative, accommodating, knowledgeable and made the day a fun one. Pedro is the type of employee that all buisnesses would want to have and keep.

Our tour was beyond our expectations. Our driver/guide Victor was absolutely amazing. Knowledgeable, interesting, friendly, funny and very accommodating. The sites/ buildings were breathtaking. The lunch was outstanding. Couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

We booked the Braga and Guimarães Small-Group Tour with Lunch from Porto and it turned out to be the perfect way to kick off our vacation. The tour was private, which made it extra special — relaxed, comfortable, and tailored to our pace. Our guide, Pablo, was excellent — super knowledgeable, engaging, and clearly passionate about Portuguese history and culture. He shared so many interesting details about both cities that we would’ve missed on our own. The stops in Braga and Guimarães were beautiful — rich in history, full of charming streets, old churches, and lovely squares. Lunch was also fantastic, with authentic Portuguese dishes and local wine. It felt like a full, but never rushed, day — a great mix of sightseeing, history, and good food.

We absolutely loved our tour and would highly recommend it to everyone. Our guide, Julianna, was fantastic, friendly, engaging, and incredibly knowledgeable.

A great trip with Juliana, very knowledgeable and made the trip really interesting. The lunch was excellent with 4 courses with wine / coffee included . Would definitely recommend.

Vitor was amazing! Really took the time to explain the things we were seeing and the rich history of Portugal. Very personable and took great care of my family. Highly recommended Vitor and efun tours!

Love this tour, beautiful Braga n Guimaraes, lively but relaxing small towns, with very knowledgeable guide, Vitor Alves, thank you.

Very entertaining and informative. Make sure you bring good shoes for walking. Especially the cathedral in Braga has a lot of steps, but you can get a ride to the top if you want