What to see in Piodao

If you are planning to visit the Portuguese district of Coimbra, you may be wondering What to see in Piodao. You may have heard of this beautiful Portuguese village in the municipality of Arganil and you want to visit it.

In that case, the first thing we have to tell you is that you will not regret your decision. Inhabited since the 16th century, it belongs to the network of the protected historic villages de Portugal and in 1980, it even received an award for being the most typical town in the country. Below, we will tell you what to see in Piodao, but first we will give you some practical information.

A privileged environment that is the first thing to see in Piodao

Piodao seems a fairy tale village, nestled in an imposing valley with terraces at the foot of the lush Azor mountain range. This area is home to large forests of chestnut, pine and heather trees. It is also home to a fauna consisting of hares, rabbits, foxes, wild boars and birds such as eagles, goshawks, partridges and crows.

Many hiking trails that can be done from Piodao. However, we recommend that you inform yourself and equip yourself well before starting them. We have already mentioned that its forests are lush and you could get lost. For example, you have circular routes that start and end in the town passing through the villages of Foz de Egua o Chas de ÉguaThe first one is about five kilometres long, while the second one is a little longer.

Precisely, in the first of these villas you have a river beach which forms a very beautiful complex where you can take a restorative bath after your walk. Furthermore, although Piodao belonged to the old municipality of Avo, today it is part, as we have said, of the municipality of Arganil and has about one hundred and twenty inhabitants.

How to get to Piodao?

Until the 1970s, the only way to get to Piodao was on horseback or on foot. In fact, it still seems like a town lost in time. However, it already has road, although it is true that it is narrow and has quite a few curves. The most common way to travel to this village is from Coimbra. In this sense, we must clarify that, if you want to visit it, you will have to go to her on purposeIn other words, it is not on its way anywhere else.

Therefore, to reach the village by private car, you have to leave Coimbra along the N-1 to take the IP3 at the height of Calibrator. Already in the area of Rage, you have to turn off onto the IC6, which, passing through the surroundings of Silveirinho, Sanginheda, Wine o Mourisia, takes you to Piodao. Once in the town, you have a large car park right at the entrance, where there is also the tourist office.

You also have buses to the village. They leave from the Coimbra Railway Terminal and take approximately one and a half hours. However, there are not many daily services, so you will have to check the timetables for both the outbound and return journeys.

When to go and where to eat and sleep in the Portuguese village?

Any time is a good time to enjoy what to see in Piodao. However, Summer is the most advisable. The days are longer so you can enjoy the hiking trails and take a dip in the aforementioned river beach. In addition, at the end of June or beginning of July, the village celebrates the festivities of the Popular Saints of Piodao, which include a procession and mass in honor of its patron saint, San Pedro de Açor, dancing and an interesting crafts fair.

On the other hand, although Piodao is small, it has some rural accommodation and also restaurants where you can eat. When we visited the village, we stayed in House of the Padaria, which is a very comfortable little hotel. It has rooms with bathroom, beautiful views and a tasty breakfast.

As for places to eat or dine, there are not many in the village. If it is still open, we recommend The Fontinha, which offers you traditional Portuguese cuisine prepared with great skill. In this regard, we would like to recommend some typical dishes from the area.

Among them, we advise you to try the chanfana, which is a stew prepared with goat meat. Also the roast pig It is delicious. As for the stews, the most notable thing is the stone soup, which is made with red beans, potatoes, bacon, chorizo, lean meat, carrots, celery, bay leaves and garlic.

Regarding sweets, you must try honey from the area, but also typical recipes from the region. For example, the Coimbra cakes; and Tentúgal cheeses, which, as the name suggests, are small cheesecakes, or the Poor Clare pudding. Most recent are the cruzios, which are prepared with butter, flour, egg and almonds and sprinkled with sugar. Finally, you can also enjoy the wrinkled ones, small buns made with wheat flour, eggs, margarine, sugar, milk and lemon zest; St. Anthony's cake or the tigerada, another tasty pudding.

What to see in Piodao: monumental heritage

Now that we have explained how to get to this beautiful Portuguese village, where to stay and what to eat, we are going to focus on its heritage. However, in reality, the entire town is a monument in itself, with Their houses are built with schist and grey slate, tile roofs and wooden doors and windows painted blue.

In fact, we recommend that you stop at some point on the winding road before reaching the town. a magnificent viewpoint to appreciate the village as a whole and also get good photographs of it.

Focusing now on what to see in the village, we advise you to visit the Piodao Museum CenterThis is an ethnographic centre where you will discover the different ways of life of its inhabitants throughout history. It is full of traditional objects and images.

Very close you have the Parish Church of Our Lady of the Conception, built in the 17th century, although it was renovated at the end of the 19th century. It will surprise you because it is very different from the rest of the buildings in the town. To begin with, it is white with touches of sky blue. But, in addition, its façade has four columns ending in points and placed asymmetrically. Between them, there is a beautiful bell gable and, at one end, a clock.

This is not the only religious monument in Piodao. It also has several small chapels in its streets and surroundings. Among them, the following stand out: those of the Souls and of Saint Peter. Finally, the Algares fountain and the bust of the canon Manuel Fernandes Nogueira, who selflessly contributed to the education of many young people in the area in the 19th century, complete the heritage to see in Piodao.

What to visit near the Portuguese village

We have already mentioned two of the towns that belong to the parish of Piodao. The origins of Chas de Égua dates back to the Neolithic. In fact, cave paintings from this period and the Bronze Age have been found there. For its part, Foz de Egua You have the beautiful river beach already mentioned that takes advantage of the Alvoco River. And both villages share with Piodao the beauty of the Açor mountain range.

Arganil

More important is the capital of the municipality, Arganil, as it has about four thousand inhabitants. Although its surroundings are not as wild as those of Piodao, it also forms a very beautiful landscape. It is located in a beautiful valley next to two streams of the same name that flow into the Alva river.

Its creation is attributed to the Romans, who would have given it the name of ArgosHowever, it is also said that it was the Ausassia of the ancient Lusitanians. In fact, very close to the town the Lomba do Canho hill fortBut this beautiful town stands out, above all, for its religious heritage.

Among the buildings that compose it are: The churches of St. Peter and Mercyas well as a Chapel of the Lord of Agony. There are also some buildings of this type in the surrounding area that you should also visit. In this regard, it is worth highlighting: the monastery of San Pedro de Folques, dating from the 12th century, although the current complex is later.

For its part, in the parish of Pombeiro of Beira you have the original Chapel of the Holy Queen, with its polygonal plan, and the Mother Church, dating from the 17th century. The latter is one of the most beautiful in the area. From the outside, it stands out for its sobriety. As for the interior, it houses several jewels. Thus, an altarpiece from the same 17th century in polychrome wood and, above all, the tomb of Matthew da Cunha, seventh lord of the town, which is in Manueline style. Finally, in the parish of Alva Cave Village you have the church and convent of San Antonio.

In conclusion, we have shown you the best what to see in Piodao and its surroundings. But we cannot end this article without advising you that, since you are traveling to the area, you should visit Coimbra, one of the jewels of Portugal. Many of its monuments have been declared Heritage and has one of the oldest universities in Europe. Come and discover Piodao and the region in which it is located.