Tom`s travels: Guarda (07/03/2015)

I decided to take the earliest train which left Coimbra at 10:15, and arrived in Guarda at 12:59; I had bought the tickets a week earlier at 8€ instead of 12€ both ways. Once I reached Guarda however, I found out how far the train station was from the city center. The city stands on top of a hill, so I had to walk about 40 minutes to get to the top. Going uphill I briefly stopped to take a look at the Capela do Mileu, right outside town, and then continued on. Once I reached the city center, first thing I did was head to the tourist office which is located in the main square Praça Luis de Camões. There I got the map of the city, with the main monuments and also all the mystic and magical symbols etched on several buildings around town. I then entered the Cathedral, very nice and quite large; its construction took a few centuries from the 14th to the 16th century, in a Gothic and then Manueline style. I then headed further uphill to reach the highest point at 1056m where the castle once stood, now only the Torre de Menagem remains. I decided to have lunch up there sitting on a bench with a few sandwiches; the sun was shining so even though the city is known for being one of the coldest in Portugal, it was quite hot for March. I then climbed the tower and from up there had a beautiful view over the town right under and the beautiful landscape all around. After that I went back down into town and entered the Judiaria or Jewish Quarter which was full of mystic symbols etched on buildings and houses. I passed by the Igreja de São Vicente which unfortunately was closed so I walked on. I passed under the Torre dos Ferreiros, one of the towers guarding the entrance to the city, and went in the Baroque church, Igreja da Misericordia. Not far away is a small museum that has objects from the roman times and all through the modern era, regarding the city of Guarda and its surroundings. Finally before heading back to the castle to enjoy some more sun I tasted the local sweet. Eventually at 18;02 I took the train, after walking another 30 minutes down to the train station, and reached Coimbra at 20:40.