Braga was a day trip from Porto. Maybe the best way to describe what we experienced in the city of Braga, is for me to share with you the purchases I made there that day.

My first purchase was a stylish pair of socks which I bought at a very nice boutique store and then just minutes later I purchased a beautiful religious medallion in one of the oldest churches in Portugal. The city is filled with beautiful upscale clothing stores that are surrounded by imposing religious monuments and churches. It’s like the two are married together. The city’s religious heritage and its cultural past has been well preserved.  It appeared to us as though the church has merged seamlessly with the city’s changing classy modern lifestyle.

Here below is another example of what we’re talking about. If you look closely in this photo a part of this church on the right with burgundy markings on its columns, is now a hotel.

Braga is the 3rd largest city in Portugal. It is north of Porto and is only an hour by train. It’s a lively city and has many youths studying at its university.

Throughout the day we often heard the chiming sounds of various church bells as we sat out at lively cafés and bars. Even though we didn’t eat here we saw many nice restaurants along our path.

We had a nice picnic lunch in one of the beautiful parks in the city.  Our p’tite nappe champêtre accompanied us on this trip.😊

There is no drive-through at this place below, (recognize the big “M”) but it’s all about location, location, location! Nothing like enjoying a Big Mac after church service.As we explored the city we came upon this little chapel where Catholics stop to pray (even just for a few minutes) as they are passing by.

The practise of lighting candles is still very present here and they burn outside all day long.  Everyone we saw passing through this little alleyway was quickly stopping to illuminate one.

If eyes could talk.

This city is beautiful, clean and vibrant AND full of history and catholic relics.

On this day city, men were hard at work getting the spring flowers in.😊 Coming from Canada this was a sight for sore eyes this early in February!

Have to love this stylish Zara store (below). One of many upscale boutiques in this city.If you look closely in the photo below you can see at a distance (see where I’ve placed the little black arrow) what appears to be a church on the hill. This is the closest we got to Bom Jesus do Monte which is actually a sanctuary. Its name means “God Jesus of the Mount” and it is a well-attended pilgrimage site. It has a long stairway to climb to it which includes 577 steps! It is often a destination for people going to Braga.Here’s are a few more photos as we enjoyed a beautiful day in Braga.