Ponte da Barca is a small Minho town built around its stone bridge and riverside. The main sights — the bridge, the Jardim dos Poetas, the parish church, and the remarkable Romanesque church of Bravães a few kilometres west — are easily covered in half a day. The rest of the time is for walking by the river, eating something slow-cooked, and heading up into the Peneda-Gerês National Park.