Vila Nova de Paiva: Travel and tourism

Located on a plateau to the south of the Serra da Nave mountains and crossed by the rivers Paiva and Côvo, the county of Vila Nova de Paiva offers visitors lush green sceneries both on the densely wooded mountainous zones and on the valleys where large streams of water flow.

The region was inhabited since remote times and there are abundant remains of pre-historic constructions, the most impressive being the Dolmen of Pendilhe (the largest funeral monument at the district of Viseu) and the Juncais Cromlech (near the small village of Queiriga, classified as a national monument, with stone engravings in red paint).

Other sites of historical or architectural interest also deserved to be admired, such as the ruins of a fortified settlement at Vila Cova à Coelheira, the stone pillory at the village of Fráguas and, at the seat of the county, the Roman bridge and the Mother Church (with granite walls, rebuilt in the 18th century on the site of a Romanesque temple and still preserving a Romanesque-Byzantine Cross from the 11th century).

Vila Nova de Paiva boasts of producing a variety of typical handicrafts, from works in forged iron, wicker basketry and weaved rugs to straw cloaks and wood clogs.

Local food is equally varied and rich, offering fresh trout from the river Paiva in vinegar sauce, rabbit stew spiced with broom, roast kid and fried pork with suet, besides traditional recipes of arroz doce (rice pudding with cinnamon) and leite-creme (a kind of custard with a caramelized top).