Guimarães is a compact city and most visitors are done with the centre in a day or two. Use it as a base for the rest of the Minho.
Braga is twenty minutes away by train and feels like a different country: bigger, baroque, the spiritual capital of Portugal with a dense old centre of churches and the dramatic Bom Jesus do Monte sanctuary on a hill above the city.
Amarante is a small riverside town forty minutes east, with a famous Renaissance bridge and the Convento de São Gonçalo overlooking the river. Pair it with a glass of vinho verde on the riverbank.
Porto is an hour away by train and well worth a day if you have not already used the city as your base.
