Cultural Heritage of Humanity City

Cradle of our nation and symbol of our history (reason for which it was printed in one of the keeps of the ancient battlement of the city “Portugal was born here”), Guimarães won the UNESCO distinction of worldwide patrimony in December 2001. The recuperation of Guimarães Historical Centre has been distinguished with many important awards such as “Europa Nostra” (1985), “Nacional de Arquitectura” (1993) and “Real Fundación de Toledo” (1996). As the city’s most emblematic points are discovered, the sacred hill where the castle stands, the S. Miguel romanesque church – where D. Afonso Henriques was baptized – the Paço dos Duques, the Santiago and Oliveira Squares or the historical centre in general, a distinct monumental patrimony, inheritance left by generations and generations of our ancestors, is found. With a very animated cultural and social life, the city offers a diversity of activities and events, for all tastes. For having known how to preserve this so well, Guimarães is now a city of meetings, one of the most beautiful and most visited in the country.