Amarante sits between two of northern Portugal's biggest draws. Porto is 50 minutes west by car or about an hour by bus, perfect for an afternoon raid on the riverside Port lodges. Peso da Régua in the heart of the Douro Valley is 45 minutes east — a good base for a wine-tasting day along the terraced vineyards.
Closer at hand, the Serra do Marão rises south of town, with hiking trails through chestnut forest and a high-mountain road leading to Vila Real. Travanca has a notable 12th-century Romanesque church and monastery, twenty minutes by car.