The historic centre is a sixteen-hectare cluster of medieval streets, squares, and granite-and-timber houses, walled in places and threaded with iron-railed balconies. UNESCO listed it in 2001 for being one of the best-preserved examples of a medieval town that grew organically out of a castle community.
Wander Rua de Santa Maria, the spine of the old town, then drift between Oliveira Square, Santiago Square, and the smaller alleys to the south. Almost everything you want to see in Guimarães is inside this perimeter; the rest of the visit is mostly choosing which café to sit in.