Braganca

Tras-os-Montes - literally meaning "behind the mountains" - is a province tucked away into Portugal's most inland, northeast corner. Until the country's admission into the European Union in 1992, this glacial tabletop of granite boulders and rural communities was one of the most isolated pockets of the Continent.

On a hillock above BRAGANÇA , the small and remote capital, stands a pristine circle of walls, enclosing a medieval village that rises to a massive keep and castle. Seemingly untouched by the centuries, this extraordinary Citadel - along with the fine local museum - is the principal reason for a visit to the town. The twelfth-century council chamber, the Domus Municipalis , stands in the heart of the citadel; very few Romanesque civic buildings have survived anywhere in Europe, and no other has this pentagonal form. Next to it is the church of Santa Maria , with its eighteenth-century barrel-vaulted, painted ceiling - a feature common to several churches in Bragança. Towering above these two is the Castle , which the Portuguese royal family rejected as a residence in favour of their vast estate in the Alentejo. At its side a curious pillory rises from the back of a prehistoric granite pig, or porca , thought to have been a fertility idol of a prehistoric cult. Celtic-inspired medieval tombstones rub shoulders with a menagerie of porcas in the gardens of Museu do Abade de Bacal , between the citadel and cathedral in Rua Abílio Beca (Tues-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat & Sun 10am-6pm; ?1.25, free on Sun). Inside, a collection of sacred art and the watercolours of Alberto Souza are the highlights, along with displays of local costumes.

The tourist office (July-Sept Mon-Fri 9am-12.30pm & 2-7pm; Oct-June Mon-Fri 9am-12.30pm & 2-5pm; tel 273 381 273, www.bragancanet.pt ) is on an extension of Avda. Cidade de Zamora, a couple of hundred metres north of the cathedral. The cheapest pension in town is the Hospedaria Brigantina , next to the post office on Rua Almirante Reis (tel 273 324 321; £5-10/$8-16/?9-18); you'd be better advised to pay a little more and stay at Residencial Poças , Rua Combatentes da G. Guerra 200 (tel 073 331 428; £5-10/$8-16/?9-18). The nearest campsite (tel 273 351 535; May-Oct) is 6km out of town on the França road; a better option is the plush, private site (tel 073 999 371; open all year) 8km down the Vinhais road, with good facilities and a pool. As for restaurants , two favourites are Restaurante Pocas , next to the Residencial , serving big wholesome meals, and Restaurante D Fernando , Cidadela 197, inside the walled old town, which is surprisingly good value.

Informatioin courtesy of Travelnow and Rough City Guides Lda