This post about Penacova and Lorvão is part of a series of posts about the same trip. See the summary of this trip by clicking in the article below:
May 14, 2024 – Tuesday
To know about what we did during the day, see this post.
We ended the day by checking in to a hotel we chose while we had lunch, Hotel Rural Quinta da Conchada. It is located on the banks of the Mondego River, has great reviews and beautiful views for an affordable price. It was easy for us to choose it…lol
I called on the way to see if we could get a discount because we had booked at the last minute and the answer was yes. We paid 76 euros to stay in a mini bungalow facing the river and despite the cramped shower cubicle, I found everything else to be very comfortable. The highlight was sitting on the balcony and drinking our wine without anyone around us, just listening to the birds.
We reserved the heated pool/jacuzzi for 7:30 pm and when the time came, we got ready to enjoy some relaxation. We shared the space with another couple and when the time was up, we went back to the room to get ready for dinner at the hotel restaurant.
The restaurant also overlooks the river and had several interesting dishes, but we were still full from the suckling pig lunch, so we ate relatively little. Everything was good, but the best part was walking back to our room without having to drive… haha Convenience is life!
May 15, 2024 – Wednesday
We had breakfast with a view in the same place where we had dinner the day before and checked out of the hotel to explore the region using it as a base. this post from Vagamundos.
Mondego Bookstore
We stopped first at the viewpoint Mondego Bookstore, which overlooks a rock wall with cracks that resemble vertical books.
Gavinhos Mills
Then we went to the Gavinhos Mills, which are located on top of a hill with an incredible view of the region. I thought it was a shame that most of the windmills were abandoned, but I liked seeing at least one renovated and here it is:
Penacova Village
We headed to the village of Penacova and went straight to the Emydgio da Silva Lookout and we liked the view and the fact that it was empty.
Then we stopped in the town center and went to see the romantic balcony. Raúl Lino Pergola, with its flowers and van for beautiful photos. Of course this place was much more crowded than the previous one…
I quickly popped into the Penacova Main Church, bought my fridge magnet nearby and then we bought lunch. takeaway node Job Bifanas. I was impressed by the amount of people they served in the short time I was there waiting for our bifanas. You could sit at the tables or take the food to go, but we thought it best not to spend too much time sitting down to enjoy the other attractions in the area.
Monastery of Lorvão
We ate the bifanas in the comfort of our car and when we finished, we went to Monastery of Lorvão, which was located nearby. It was founded in the 9th century as a Benedictine monastery for men and in 1206 it became a Cistercian convent for women. Known for its baroque architecture and collection of manuscripts, it was a psychiatric hospital until 2012 and has now apparently been bought by a hotel chain.
We paid 4.50 per person for the full tour and were unlucky enough to get a guide with an accent that was hard to understand, but who was a walking encyclopedia. He knew all the dates and names of the people in the stories he told and I swear I left the tour feeling a little dizzy from all the information – that’s because I couldn’t understand 90% of what he was talking about… imagine if I had understood. We walked around the monastery museum and then went to see the church, which is gorgeous!
Then we drove to Coimbra, as we had booked a Fado ao Centro show at 7pm and we still had to check in.
I will talk about our tour of Coimbra in another post. 🙂
Summary of this tour
Other trips through Central Portugal
If you are interested in touring this delightful region of Portugal, take a look at our tours through from this link.
These were some of them:
- 3 days in Fatima, Batalha, Alcobaça, Tomar and Nazareth
- 3 days in Figueira da Foz, Obidos, Buddha Eden and Lourinhã
- 9 days through the Center and North of Portugal
- 4 days in Central Portugal
