Guarda

Guarda is a city of 43,000 people (2011) in Beira Alta, a region of Central Portugal. Guarda is the highest city in continental Portugal (altitude 1,056 m), located to the northeast of Serra da Estrela (the largest mountain in mainland Portugal). The main attraction in Guarda is its cathedral, known as the Sé da Guarda.

Understand

The main economic sectors of Guarda are: tourism, textiles, electric wire and cable industry for automobile manufacturing and for energy industries, wood, glass, marble and granite processing, metallurgy, aluminum manufacturing, chemical products, blinds, cold cuts, bakery and pastry, dairy industry, as well as construction companies. There are also handicraft activities and agricultural and agro-livestock activities in the rural environment of the municipality.

Get in

By train

The train station is served by Linhas da Beira Alta. There are trains to Lisbon via Coimbra 3-5 times a day and to Oporto via Viseu. Schedules are available online at the Portuguese railway company's website. The overnight train from Irun (France) to Lisbon stops at Guarda around 06:00.

The train station is about 3.2 km from the city centre. There is a local bus running from the main bus station (top of the mountain) to the modern train station (one-way ticket €0.95).

By bus

There are buses from Spain (Madrid, Salamanca) to Oporto which stop in Guarda. A one-way ticket from Salamanca to Guarda costs about €25. The bus station is in the centre of town, near the top of the mountain. It is connected by a local bus line to the train station.

By car

The principal road connecting Guarda to the rest of Portugal and to Spain is the A25 [Aveiro-Vilar Formoso).

Get around

See

• 1 Guarda Cathedral. A medieval temple built in Gothic and Manueline styles. Its restoration, carried out by the architect Rosendo Carvalheira, took place between 1899 and 1921. (updated Jan 2021)

• 2 Castle of Guarda. A National Monument whose construction, supposedly on a Roman-Lusitanian fort from the 1st century, took place between the 12th and 14th centuries. (updated Jan 2021)

Do

Ski in the Serra da Estrela Natural Park.

Buy

Tapestry; ceramics

Eat

The gastronomy of Guarda is associated with the gastronomy of the Serra da Estrela. Some of the most outstanding typical dishes are the following: roast lamb, rice with duck in the Guarda way, and Lagareiro cod, which can be easily found in regional cuisine restaurants. The gastronomy of the city includes a wide range of meat-based dishes, given the geographical location of the city, as well as the surrounding lands, which are conducive to grazing. There is also a wide variety of fish dishes from freshwater streams. Cod is the exception, since its conservation process (by drying) has always allowed its consumption in lands far from the sea. The pig occupies an important place in the local gastronomy, with countless dishes made with this type of meat. The ham cured in sea salt can be highlighted, as well as the typical local cured meats (black pudding, farinheira and chouriço), such as tripe with vegetables. Other common meats are lamb, goat, beef, and white meat. Carquesa (Genista tridentata) rice is also a very typical dish in the city and the region.

At the time of the hunting season, unique dishes, such as hare rice "malandrinho", or wild boar with beans are eaten.

In the fall, Trancoso's edible mushroom stew (champignons) and chestnut soup are popular (it can also be eaten cooked, boiled, or sweet).

Drink

Sleep

• Pousada de Almeida - Senhora das Neves, 6350-112 Almeida, ☏ +351 271 574 283, +351 271 574 290, fax: +351 271 574 320, ✉ pousadadealmeida@armail.pt. This hotel reveals, in spite of its modern atmosphere and spacious rooms, the historical and cultural grandiosity of the village of Almeida, now a classified National Heritage. 
• Pousada de Vila Pouca da Beira - Convento do Desagravo, Calçada do Convento 3400-758 Vila Pouca da Beira, ☏ +351 238 670 080, fax: +351 238 670 081, ✉ recepcao.desagravo@pousadas.pt. A historic luxury hotel, offering very high standard accommodation in superb surroundings. 
• Pousada de Manteigas - São Lourenço, Estrada Nacional 232 Penhas Douradas / Santa Maria 6260-200 Manteigas, ☏ +351 275 980 050, fax: +351 275 982 453, ✉ recepcao.slourenco@pousadas.pt. Entirely built with stone of the region, located on the top of the Serra da Estrela Natural Park, enjoys a view over the river Zêzere Valley. 

Connect

Go next

• Serra da Estrela (mountain)/ Manteigas
• Castles in Terras de Riba-Coa (Pinhel, Sabugal, Marialva, Castelo Mendo, etc.)
• Douro valley / Foz Coa.Coa valley;Marialva;Sortelha.
• Viseu; Lamego; Salamanca.

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