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Amares

District of Braga

demonym: amarense

Between the Cávado and the Homem, where monasteries guard centuries of faith.

1 festival recorded in this municipality

Brian Boru via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · fonte

festivals in this municipality1

Little Bean Fair and Our Lady of the Rosary 2 – 4 Oct 2026 Fiscal

parishes1

Fiscal1 festival

what to see

Mosteiro de Santo André de Rendufe, a Benedictine monastery and one of the great monumental landmarks of the Municipality.
Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Bouro, another landmark of the religious heritage of Amares.
Santuário de Abadia, a destination for pilgrimage and religious tourism.
Mother Church and pillory, in the town centre.
Hill forts of Amares and Lago, remains of the earliest human occupation of the territory.
Ponte de Rodas and Ponte do Porto, bridges crossing the rivers of the Municipality.
Feira Franca, on the second Sunday of May, and a weekly fair on Saturdays.

about the place

Amares lies in the district of Braga, on the right bank of the river Cávado, north-east of the district capital, between the rivers Cávado and Homem. It is a small municipality of about 82 km² and 24 parishes, with uneven terrain, well-watered granite soils and some of the highest rainfall in the Minho. The settlement grew after the Moorish invasion in the 8th century, and its original name is said to have been Marecos, the name of an estate belonging to Gualdim Pais, first Master of the Order of the Templars. King Manuel I granted it a charter in 1514, but the present municipality was only established in 1853. Farming still shapes local life, with maize, beans, oranges, vines and flowers, alongside rich crafts in weaving, embroidery, basketry and wooden miniatures. In July the feasts of Corpus Christi and Nossa Senhora da Paz are celebrated, and the municipality is investing in religious tourism and the spa of Caldelas. The municipal holiday is on 13 June.