The Sousa Valley is a well-kept treasure, increasingly turning towards national and international tourism. Mild weather, beautiful landscapes, excellent green wines,
hospitable people, important monuments and traditions that are thousands years old are among the many reasons to visit this region.

It is composed of the municipalities of Penafiel, Paredes, Felgueiras, Lousada, Paços de Ferreira and Castelo de Paiva. The first five integrate the district of Porto, whereas Castelo de Paiva belongs
to the district of Aveiro. A total of over 300 sq. miles and more than 300.000 inhabitants.

Atractivs of the city:Penafiel is a large municipality, placed between the Sousa and Tâmega rivers, in the central area of the District of Porto.
The municipality occupies an area of 82 sq. miles, having 38 parishes and more than 72.000 inhabitants. It has fertile valleys, where excellent green
wines are produced as well as fruit, cereals and dairy products, making agriculture and industry the main economical activities.

Until the 18th century, it was known as Arrifana do Sousa and, in 1770, king Joseph I raised it to city status. In this same year, a papal bull from Pope Clement XIV turned it into episcopal headquarters,
enclosing 102 parishes. Later, during queen Mary I's reign, the local diocese was reintegrated in Porto's.

The city's historic center is a notable granite ensemble of noble houses, churches and convents going from the Renaissance to Baroque.
The municipality's territory is rich in historical and cultural monuments. Examples are Mozinho Mount's Fortified Village, the Monastery of
São Salvador de Paço de Sousa (notable medieval ensemble, part of the Sousa Valley's Romanesque Route), the Tower of Coreixas and the House and Honor of Barbosa.
Manor houses are represented by the Casa do Muro (Wall House - the refuge chosen by the poet Alexandre Herculano), Casa do Seixo, in Recesinhos (Pebble House - the cradle of António Nobre's poems),
Quinta da Aveleda (name of the estate labeling the famous Aveleda and Casal Garcia wines), among other majestic examples.

A few miles from Penafiel are S. Vicente's baths, an edenic place, whose waters' properties were already acknowledged by the Romans.
The archaeological traces prove the region's ancient occupation, as is the case of the Portela Dolmen and the Luzim Menhir.

Belvederes with flaring landscapes, monuments preserving Portugal's history, as well as a rich ethnography and a delicious gastronomy, make Penafiel a charming place.

It is limited, to the north, by the municipality of Lousada, by Amarante to the northeast, by Marco Canaveses to the east, by Castelo de Paiva to the south, and by Gondomar and Paredes to the west.

Flavous and Traditions: The typical dishes, the traditional desserts and the green wine production are the flavors that evince traditions since ancient times.
The roots manifest themselves through handcrafts and regional products, as well as in the organization of festivities, pilgrimages and fairs.
Find out also about the ethnography and the bass drum groups, the folk groups and the traditional music that reveal the region’s history.