The Pousada de Marao is in the Marao mountain range about 20 km from the towns of Amarante to the west and Vila Real to the east and makes a good base from which to walk the area. There are magnificent views of the mountains and the Tamega valley from the Pousada sitting room which is particularly well placed to take advantage of the surrounding scenery. The menu which, of course, includes the usual regional dishes includes shredded green cabbage soup with mint, trout stuffed with smoked ham, and local sweets from Amarante.
In contrast to the surrounding area, the university town of Vila Real is quite lively, particularly at the festival times of Santo Antonio on June 13th and Sao Pedro on June 28th and 29th. To the east of the town lies the country house (signposted Palacio de Mateus) featured on the label of Mateus Rose wine. Dating from around 1740, which was the heyday of Portuguese Baroque, the house is open to the public and welcomes visitors who wish to look round. To the west is Amarante where, alongside the town bridge, the most important monument, that of the church and former monastery of Sao Goncalo is found. The church is at the centre of an ancient fertility cult, probably of pagan origin where the saint's tomb is said to guarantee a speedy marriage to all who touch it. Sao Domingos stands alongside and is an interesting Baroque church with a grand tower and a museum.
The Pousada is easy to find - leaving Amarante going east on the IP4 towards Vila Real, Sao Goncalo is about 20 km from Amarante
14 Rooms, 1 Suites Connecting rooms, Air conditioning, Parking, Golf, Scenery surrounding
about 20 km from the towns of Amarante to the west and Vila Real to the east and makes a good base from which to walk the area. There are magnificent views of the mountains and the Tamega valley from the Pousada sitting room which is particularly well placed to take 
advantage of the surrounding scenery. The menu which, of course, includes the usual regional dishes includes shredded green cabbage soup with mint, trout stuffed with smoked ham, and local sweets from Amarante.
In contrast to the surrounding area, the university town of Vila Real is quite lively, particularly at the festival times of Santo Antonio on June 13th and Sao Pedro on June 28th and 29th. To the east of the town lies the country house (signposted Palacio de Mateus) featured on the label of Mateus Rose wine. Dating from 
around 1740, which was the heyday of Portuguese Baroque, the house is open to the public and welcomes visitors who wish to look round. To the west is Amarante where, alongside the town bridge, the most important monument, that of the church and former monastery of Sao 
Goncalo is found. The church is at the centre of an ancient fertility cult, probably of pagan origin where the saint's tomb is said to guarantee a speedy marriage to all who touch it. Sao Domingos stands alongside and is an interesting Baroque church with a grand tower and a museum.
