Picked by our team
Towns worth discovering along the Camino de Santiago, chosen by our team. Open one to see its history and sights, and where to stay.
43 towns on the Camino Portugués Central
View on the mapCaldas de Reis is the town of warm water: since 1881, thermal water at almost 50 degrees has flowed from two lion heads in the middle of town, and in the washhouse next to it pilgrims soak their feet. King Alfonso VII, later emperor, is said to have been born here in 1105. Santiago is still 44 kilometres away.
Camino Portugués CentralCaminho Português da Costa+1Coimbra is the city of the pilgrim queen: in 1325 Isabel left a crown in Santiago and came back with a pilgrim staff that lay on her coffin in 1612. 246.6 kilometres out of Lisbon, a short stage brings you to a university city with a cathedral, royal tombs and a monastery the Mondego flooded. Worth a rest day.
Camino Portugués CentralFátima: Caminho do NorteCondeixa-a-Nova is the town that Masséna set on fire in March 1811 as he retreated: church, town hall palace and houses burned, and only the palace where the marshal slept was left standing. Today a museum here tells the Roman story of the ruins next door. An afternoon is enough, then it is 15.5 kilometres to Coimbra.
Camino Portugués CentralFátima: Caminho do NorteConímbriga is considered the largest Roman ruin site in Portugal, and the Caminho passes right by it, on the line of the old road from Lisbon to Braga. Leave your rucksack behind for a few hours: mosaics, a garden with over 500 water jets, a wall made from the town's own houses. The town gave its name to Coimbra.
Camino Portugués CentralGolegã is the capital of the horse: a country town on the Tagus plain, 124.5 kilometres out of Lisbon, with a Manueline church and the National Horse Fair, which has been listed as national cultural heritage since October 2026. One evening is enough. For fair week in November, book early.
Camino Portugués CentralGrijó is the mother house: from this Augustinian monastery of 922 the monks set out in 1537 who founded the Serra do Pilar monastery above Porto. In the cloister lies a king's son who fell in 1245. The parish hostel has 14 beds, and it is only 15.3 km to Porto.
Camino Portugués CentralFátima: Caminho do NorteLisbon is the long run-up: from the cathedral, built after 1147 over Roman and Moorish layers, it is 618.9 kilometres to Santiago, about a month on foot. You get your credencial and first stamp in the Sé, and the first yellow arrow is right beside its door. Give the city a day before you set off along the Tagus.
Camino Portugués CentralCaminho do TejoMealhada lies on the road that has linked Lisbon with Braga since Roman times: in the town hall stands a 1.79-metre-high milestone from that road, and outside, along the N1, the suckling-pig restaurants of the Bairrada stand in a row. An afternoon is enough. The next pilgrim bed is 1.8 kilometres further on, in Sernadelo.
Camino Portugués CentralFátima: Caminho do NorteFor many pilgrims, Moreira da Maia is where the Camino begins before they have even seen Porto: the airport lies on the edge of town, and the Coastal Way runs along its fence. In the middle of town stands the monastery of São Salvador, whose roots go back to the 9th century. An afternoon is enough.
Caminho Português da CostaCamino Portugués CentralTop rated
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