Felgueiras: Travel and tourism

Located at the heart of the river Sousa valley, on the limits of the district of Oporto, the county of Felgueiras boasts of a rich and vast Romanesque legacy, visible at many churches and chapels with a characteristic architecture of solid granite walls and profusely ornamented portals.

The most remarkable examples are the impressive Monastery of Pombeiro (founded in the 9th or 11th century, according to different sources), the beautiful church of Airães (originally dating from the 10th century although it was altered in the 17th and 19th centuries) and the church of Unhão, founded in 1165.

However, the region also offers visitors an interesting archaeological patrimony from other periods, including the dolmens of Refontoura and Idães, several Roman bridges and paved routes and a fascinating Roman villa at Sendim, dating from the 4th century b.C.

A number of noble manor-houses rise on estates across the county, characterized by a landscape of fertile fields and dense pinewoods and forests.

At table, the region's renowned speciality is the pão-de-ló of Margaride, a kind of sponge-cake produced for centuries at the small town, but there are other tempting delicacies inherited from traditional nuns' recipes and exhibiting curious names, such as papos-de-anjo (angels' bellies) and toucinho do céu (bacon from heaven).

The county's gastronomy also includes an excellent roast kid with oven-baked rice and the local vinho verde.

As for the region's handicrafts, the embroideries of Lixa and the lace of Felgueiras fully deserve their reputation.