It’s no accident that seafaring fingers, so deft at making nets, should also be good at lacemaking. Vila do Conde is one of the few places in Portugal with an active school of the art, founded in 1918. Housed in a typical 18th-century town house in the town centre, the school includes the Museu das Rendas de Bilros, which displays eye-popping examples of work from Portugal and around the world.
Museu das Rendas de Bilros
The Douro
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Centro Português de Fotografia
15.82 MILES
This stately yet muscular building (1767) once served as a prison and now houses a photography museum. You actually walk through the thick iron gates and…
16.23 MILES
This was Porto’s first public cemetery when it was inaugurated in 1839. It is considered an important landmark for its neo-Gothic architecture and…
15.13 MILES
The Igreja da Lapa Catholic church holds particular significance in Porto as the place where Portugal’s former king and first emperor of Brazil’s heart is…
15.95 MILES
At the southern end of Rua de Santa Catarina is the lovely, eclectic Praça da Batalha, framed by Nasoni’s gracefully baroque Igreja de Santo Ildefonso…
15.82 MILES
This street is absurdly stylish and romantic, with trim boutiques, striped stone footpaths and animated crowds. It's home to Porto's most ornate tearoom,…
16.39 MILES
Don't miss a ride on this aerial gondola that provides fine views over the Douro and Porto on its short, five-minute jaunt. It runs between the southern…
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25.26 MILES
Some 7km southeast up a twisting, cobbled road – or a short ride on an ageing cable car – is the wooded summit of Penha (617m) overlooking Guimarães, the…
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21.36 MILES
A guided tour grants access to the cathedral’s three most striking chapels: the showpiece Capela dos Reis, home to the tombs of Henri of Burgundy and Dona…
Nearby The Douro attractions
0.14 MILES
On the lower level of Vila do Conde's glass-box riverfront tourist office, this small museum offers up models, photo displays, old fishing gear and one…
0.18 MILES
Religious art, antique furnishings, ceramics and early-20th-century contemporary art can be glimpsed at this museum, named after the distinguished local…
3. Alfândega Regia Museu da Construção Naval
0.18 MILES
Shipbuilding has been in Vila do Conde’s bones since at least the 13th century. This museum on the Rio Ave's banks, just west of Praça da República, has…
0.24 MILES
Peering down over the town centre and the Rio Ave, this imposing ex-monastery, founded in 1318, still has a severe-looking Gothic chapel, though the main…
12.72 MILES
Arriving in Matosinhos, you can’t help but stop dead in your tracks as your gaze is drawn upward to this 50m-high sculpture by North American artist Janet…
6. Forte de São Francisco Xavier
12.99 MILES
Otherwise known as the Castelo do Queijo (Cheese Castle) because of the wedge of rock it stands upon, Forte de São Francisco Xavier looks every inch the…
13.07 MILES
Some 5000 marine creatures splash in the tanks at Sealife, where kiddie highlights include a shark tunnel and a rock pool for handling crabs, starfish and…
14.61 MILES
A joy for the aimless ambler, this 19th-century garden is flanked by graceful old buildings and dotted with willowy palms, sculptures, fountains and a…