Vila Viçosa Tourist Office

Start by taking a deep breath. If it's spring, Praça da República smells of orange blossom, from the dozens of orange trees that line it. There is no better introduction to the Princess of the Alentejo.

This square has always been where the town receives those who arrive. The weekly markets were held here for centuries, and the square has borne four names: Praça Nova, Largo de São Bartolomeu, Praça D. Amélia, Praça da República. It changed names with the tides of history; its calling to welcome never changed.

And there is much to welcome you to: the capital of the House of Braganza, where a duke became king, has a castle, a palace, pantheons, the Patroness of Portugal on an altar, and geniuses born in streets of marble. Every place has its story, told on the very spot where it happened.

Ask for the map here, choose where to begin, and take your time. Vila Viçosa is not a town you visit: it's a town you converse with.