Anadia

How long to stay?

A break is enough, half an hour to an hour. You arrive from Mealhada after 8.7 km in the morning, and 16.6 km to Águeda still lie ahead of you. Anadia is the place on this stage where you can get everything: coffee and shopping. You only stay longer if you want to visit the wine museum or make a detour to the spa town of Curia.

Anadia in Ninja numbers

• 8.7 km from Mealhada to here according to Camino Ninja, with 16.6 still ahead of you to Águeda.
• 340.6 km still separate you from Santiago according to Camino Ninja.
• About 15 km is how far the Caminho Central runs through the municipality of Anadia, from south to north, via Alpalhão, Aguim, Anadia, Arcos, Aféloas and Avelãs de Caminho.
• 1514 is the year King Manuel I gave Anadia its town charter. The place was only raised to city status in 2004.

Arriving: past the town

From Mealhada you come via Sernadelo, Alpalhão and Aguim, mostly on asphalt. The Way does not lead through the middle of Anadia but past the town centre, through the district of Arcos; according to Camino Ninja the centre lies about 600 metres off the track. The spa town of Curia is about 2.3 km away. Around Anadia you can see what the area lives on: vineyards. Anadia lies in the middle of the Bairrada, halfway between Coimbra and Aveiro.

In brief: wine on the old road

Anadia is first mentioned in 1082. In 1514 King Manuel I merged existing parishes into the municipality of Anadia and gave it a new town charter. The Romans already knew the area: the road from Olisipo to Cale, from Lisbon to Porto, passed this way. Between 1836 and 1853 the administrative reforms added twelve small parishes, among them Aguim, Sangalhos and Avelãs de Caminho. At the end of the 19th century the railway line from Lisbon to Porto and the rise of the spa town of Curia brought new momentum. In 2004 Anadia was raised to city status. Today it calls itself "Capital do Espumante", capital of sparkling wine.

In the wine country: what to see

Anadia is not a place of grand churches. What you should see here has to do with wine and with water.

• Museu do Vinho Bairrada: The wine museum of the Bairrada opened on 27 September 2003. The modern building is closed towards the avenue and opens onto the vineyards and the Bairrada wine station. On two floors it tells the story of the region's winegrowing, of the tools and of the making of Espumante; the collection comes mainly from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, along with temporary exhibitions of contemporary art. The museum is on the Avenida Engenheiro Tavares da Silva at the edge of town. According to the latest information we found (as of 2025), it is open Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 1pm and from 2pm to 6pm, at weekends from 11am to 7pm, closed on Mondays, and admission costs €1. Call ahead: +351 231 519 780.
• Curia (detour): The spa town lies about 2.3 km off the Way. It grew at the end of the 19th century with the railway. To this day the Termas offer their thermal water, and gardens and buildings recall the 1920s. The Curia Palace Hotel, designed by Norte Júnior, opened in 1926 and has been protected, together with its surroundings, since 2013. The old station building of 1944, designed by Cottinelli Telmo and with tile panels by Jorge Barradas from 1945, now houses the Espaço Bairrada with a tourist information office and regional products. For a pilgrim it is a detour, for a rest day a good place.

Honestly

• The Way only brushes Anadia. If you want to see the centre or the museum, you have to leave the track. If you don't, you mostly see the district of Arcos.
• No pilgrim bed in town. There is no pilgrim hostel in Anadia itself. The nearest is just beyond the town in Famalicão, see below.
• A lot of asphalt and traffic. The stage from Mealhada to Águeda runs almost always within sight or earshot of the IC2 and the national roads, with little shade. Near Arcos and Aféloas you pass through an industrial estate.
• The museum's opening times are not quite fresh. We found nothing newer than those from 2025.

Where pilgrims sleep

In Anadia itself there is no pilgrim hostel, only hotels and private rooms. About 1.5 km further on, in Famalicão, pilgrim portals list the Albergue de peregrinos Colégio de Nossa Senhora da Assunção de Cluny: a donativo hostel in a school, open all year, with 50 places in dormitories separated by sex, no booking and only with a credencial. It lies about a kilometre off the Way. It is not in the Camino Ninja database, and we have not confirmed whether it is open. Call ahead: +351 231 504 167.

Ninja tips

• Do your shopping here. Anadia is the only larger place between Mealhada and Águeda. Coffee and shopping here, and then you don't have to worry on the way.
• Espumante goes with suckling pig. In the Bairrada you drink the local sparkling wine with leitão. The Caves de São João cellar even bottles a wine called "Bom Caminho", in honour of the Ways of St James.
• Watch for the name Avelãs de Caminho. 5.3 km beyond Anadia lies a village that carries the Way in its name. The waymarks lead to its main church, and just beyond, in São João da Azenha, a chapel stands in the shade of a big oak: a good place for a break.
• Set off early. Shortly before Águeda, about two kilometres lead through the industrial estate of Barrô, busy with traffic on weekdays. In the morning it is quieter there.

Onward: via Avelãs de Caminho to Águeda

From Anadia you walk north on the Camino Portugués Central through Arcos, Famalicão, Avelãs de Caminho, São João da Azenha and Aguada de Baixo. After 16.6 km you are in Águeda, where the Fonte do Atalho of 1467 welcomes you first, with your first view of the town. The Way is well waymarked, flat and leads through vineyards, but mostly over asphalt. The Fátima: Caminho do Norte also runs through Anadia, its pilgrims walking south, to the sanctuary of Fátima.

Deep dive: The pearls of the Bairrada

A short read, in case you want to learn more about Anadia. About two minutes' reading.

A small municipality on a big road

Anadia was a small municipality with medieval roots, first mentioned in the year 1082. What defined it was its position. The Romans had already built their road from Lisbon to Porto here, and the pilgrims to Santiago later followed the same direction. In 1514 King Manuel the First merged the parishes of the area into the municipality of Anadia. The village of Avelãs de Caminho, north of the town, also received its own town charter, a foral, at that time. It carries the Way in its name to this day.

Railway, baths and bubbles

The great change came at the end of the nineteenth century. The railway line from Lisbon to Porto reached the area, and with it came guests to the spa town of Curia to bathe in the thermal water. In the 1920s a palace hotel was built there, and it opened in 1926. And then there is the wine. The Bairrada is a wine region with its own designation of origin, and Anadia calls itself the capital of its sparkling wine. In 2003 the wine got a museum of its own, and in 2004 Anadia was raised to city status.

What Anadia gives you

You are only passing through here, like almost everyone who ever travelled this road. Anadia has made something of that: a place where you stop, shop, raise a glass and move on. Perhaps that is how you can walk the Way as well. Not every place has to hold on to you. Some give you only a short rest, and that is enough.