Vila Nova de Foz Côa is a small Douro Superior town with one very large reason to visit: the Côa Valley's open-air Paleolithic rock art. The engravings are not tucked away in caves, but cut into schist outcrops along the Côa and Douro, a rare survival that changed how archaeologists thought about prehistoric art.
Start at the Côa Museum, a sharp modern building above the river mouth, then book a guided visit into the archaeological park. Canada do Inferno has the drama of the abandoned dam works that almost drowned the art; Penascosa is the most accessible and atmospheric of the rock-art sites.
The town itself is quiet, with almonds, olives, and Douro wine around it. That quiet is part of the appeal. Foz Côa is for travellers who would happily trade another pretty old town for a hard, sunlit valley where human marks have survived for thousands of years.