Torre de Moncorvo

A network of narrow medieval shopping streets, granite-block walls and handsome mansions makes TORRE DE MONCORVO a pleasant place to stop off for a few hours, with everything helpfully signposted, starting with the imposing sixteenth-century Igreja Matriz – the largest church in Trás-os-Montes, which took a century to build. A terrace here looks out over the distant hills, while behind the church the Museu de Ferro records the region’s former iron industry. Around the corner, down one side of the church, the Oficina Vinaria is an engaging wine museum, while following signs across the main square into the “nucléo medieval” takes you to the surviving town gate, the Porta da Vila.

That, basically, is your lot, making the town’s other main attraction its almond trees, the blossoming of which draws crowds of visitors in late February and early March (CP, the Portuguese rail operator, even runs special almond blossom train-and-coach excursions here every spring, see wwww.cp.pt). The sugared nuts are available in any number of local groceries and “produto regionais” shops, along with Moncorvo’s famed cherries and lots of Douro wines.