Terra dos Rios looks for and discovers houses in the broad surroundings of the city Tábua. You will receive a warm welcome in this area with its impressive mountains of the Sera da Estrela and its green and hilly surroundings. There are two bigger cities in this district: Coimbra and Viseu. Furthermore there are a lot of smaller cities, towns, villages and settlements. The rivers Rio Mondego, Rio Dão and Rio Alva are clean and wide and all near.
Important roads are the IP3, IC12 and N17.
Apart from the accessibility there are more attractive reasons to opt for a (second) home in this region. The Beira interior has a pleasant climate. Summers are not too hot and almost always the landscape appears green and attractive. This is also due to the fact that here is more precipitation than the southern part of the country. The hilly landscape compares friendly with the nearby rough Serra da Estrela.
In the cities you meet Portugal in modern times At the countryside time seems to continue in the former years. Who wants to slow down, to meet neighbours with time for a chat, and can deal with the low frequent public transport will find the groove here. Compared to the Trás os Montes up north this region knows a lesser rate of poverty, which caused more limitation of migration to foreign countries and the bigger cities. In small villages children are still born and new bars are opening their doors. Residents maintain their land (and let you share in the crop after you got to know each other), their meadows and their grazing cattle’s, and … park their cars. Fortunately progress goes on in the Beiras too.
Portugal has different region with their own characteristics. Common known is the Algarve down south, with warm summers, beaches and tourism. Also down south we’ll find the hot and dry region of the Alentejo with the nice cities Évora and Beja. Up north are the rough and dry mountains of the Trás os Montes and the green Douro valley with its huge wineyards. The Beira interior is more or less in the centre: not too hot and not too cold. Spain is near and the cost is not too far away, but certainly not unimportant: the region still undiscovered. This keeps the prices for real estate relatively low.
Cities and towns
There are lots of big and small cities in Central Portugal, but most travel guides are unremarkable in information about this part of the country. Our suggestion is: take a detailed roadmap, mark your own route and have yourself surprised!
Stop the car at every interesting spot – Portugal is a country of many details you will only discover when you will slow down your pace to the atmosphere of the country.
For a first impression at this site you can read some information about cities and towns in the surroundings of Terra dos Rios.
Coimbra and Viseu
Coimbra
At a distance of half an hour drive from Tábua, you will discover Coimbra and Viseu.
Both cities are known by their beautiful old centre; lively, narrow streets and nice shops. The University City Coimbra is the main city the region. The city is situated along the river Mondego. The old part with the narrow steep streets is together with the university, at the hilltop. The newer part is down to the Mondego. Visit the tourist information down there for a local map and a list of cultural events.
Coimbra style fado is more cerebral than Lisbon’s. Coimbra’s fado is a mix of different styles in music developed in the University City at the late 19th century. New students from new places brought their own music and created the fado of Coimbra. Here the singer is accompanied by a classic and a Português guitar with twelve strings.
Thinking of Portugal is synonymous with the Fado. Gently strumming guitars and melancholic singing bringing a romantic fatalistic feeling called ‘saudade’ by the Portuguese.
During Salazar’s dictatorial period, Fado songs became a revolutionary character. The opponents of the dictatorship could express their feelings this way. The wrote texts against the regime. With symbolic words fado singers could sing about their ideals in the streets. After the Portuguese Revolution of 1974, songs became more generic and handle for instance about equality between people.
Viseu
Viseu is mainly known for its Dão wine. The river, at which the wine takes her name, flows southwards of Viseu. You really should visit the old town of Viseu with the narrow streets, the town walls an -gates, the cathedral, the museu Grao Vasco, the retail park and the genuine feeling of an old town. And bring a visit to Viseu in December – the illumination is amazing and in competition with other Portuguese towns, overwhelming!
Coöperative adega’s you’ll find in ten different places over the whole region. Together they supply 60% of the Dão wines.
The website of Dão Lafões informs you (in English, French and Portuguese) about wine routes and other interesting advices www.rtdaolafoes.com
Santa Comba Dão
Santa Comba Dão is situated on the edge of the Dão region. Near this lovely town the Dão meets the Mondego and loses whit her name. Santa Comba Dão is small and pretty. It has a beautiful old centre, a helicopter airport for helicopters of the fire brigade and a variety of regional facilitating functions like a week market. Important to notice is the railway station at Vimieiro. Not only the intercity to Lisbon will stop here, but also the international overnight train from Paris. Daily departures of the Sud-express in the direction of Paris are at 7.15 p.m.
The weekly market in Arganil takes place uphill the town. Food, (grilled chicken: sit down at the table and join the others), clothes (not expensive when you’ll find something of your choice), tools: good quality and inexpensive, lots of plants, vegetables, sowing seed, household goods and much more. But especially big, crowded and pleasant. And don’t forget to visit Arganil itself. It has a nice square, typical shops and good coffee. Hop in at the tourist information (Serviços de Tursimo da Câmara Municipal de Arganil established at the town hall). Get the description of one of the wonderful walkings in the wooded hills of the Serra do Açor.
Oliveira do Hospital
Oliveira do Hospital is close to the Serra da Estrela. The Serra (mountains) is high, rough and impressive. In wintertime there is some skiing on modest scale. In summertime it is good hiking in this scenic area. On the whole the quietness and nature is overwhelming. The municipality maintains its own website (also in English) www.oliveiradohospital.com.
The city itself is small, has authentic buildings and streets, a pousada and some nice bars and restaurants.
Penacova
Penacova itself is beatifull. It lies on a steep hill, at the Rio Mondego, there is a dam, there are old mills and there is tourism, the last thing is not usual for most towns in the surroundings. Penacova feels like a nice discovery, the real countryside (about 25 km inland from Coimbra), but with the feeling of importancy.
