The stone bridge over the Lima is the reason the town exists and the centrepiece of its postcard. Ten unequal granite arches stride across the river — three over the main channel, the rest spanning the seasonal floodplain that the Lima fills in winter. It was begun in 1543 on the site of the older ferry crossing and finished in the 1570s. Cars and buses now use a newer concrete bridge a hundred metres downstream; the old bridge is pedestrian-only and the best vantage point in town.
The walk across is short — three minutes from end to end — but the view back to the granite quays and the church tower is the classic Minho composition: terracotta roofs, white walls, granite trim, a deep slow river. The best time is late afternoon, when the light catches the western face of the bridge and locals start filling the cafés on the north bank for the evening drink.