Ponte de Lima. Lima river´s right bank

About this heritage

Crossing the bridge of Roman and medieval origin, leaving behind the historical centre, you get to Lima river´s right bank. The landscape becomes greener because of the riverside vegetation and due to the fewer buildings. After crossing, there are several elements to visit.

One of them is the church of Santo António da Torre Velha, of late Baroque origin, and in its vicinity is the 14th century Capela do Anjo da Guarda and the entrance to the Parque Arnado theme garden, which is made up of four theme gardens: the Romantic Garden, the Labyrinth Garden, inspired by the legend of the Minotaur, the Renaissance Garden, where water is considered an essential element, and the Baroque Garden.

A little further on, on the main road, is the entrance to the Brinquedo Português museum or toy museum, in the Casa do Arnado. It contains a toy´s complete and extensive collection. More than two thousand pieces presented in chronological order from the end of the 19th century to 1986.

Walking along the riverbank, in the opposite direction to the temple, you will reach a garden area called the Festival de Jardims (Garden Festival) where, every year, from 31 May to 31 October, the festival is held by exhibiting the different gardens. Each edition is made with a different theme, it is very comforting to walk among these ephemeral works.

Beyond the gardens is the Nautical Club of Ponte de Lima, which was founded in August 1991.

To learn more

The Nautical Club of Ponte de Lima is located on the river´s right bank. It was founded on August 21, 1991, taking advantage of the facilities of the old canoeing school. Thanks to this initiative, many of the city´s young people began to practice water sports in a more technical way, with the surprise of the athletes emergence with the capacity to reach national level.

It is a close organization with great empathy for the surrounding community. The coaches and athletes sense of belonging to the club and the municipality that hosted them, created a relationship and a symbiosis that are rare in the national sports scene. Thanks to this community´s efforts, a quarter of a century after its foundation, the club is going through the most brilliant moment in its history.

Next to these facilities is the space where the Garden Festival is held, dedicated each year to a different theme. Several national and international projects are presented for the festival, of which 12 are chosen to be built later in this space.

During five months, from May to October, the gardens are exposed to the public to visit and appreciate each one of them. The gardens and flowers are mixed with recycled materials, wood, plastic forming true works of art. This initiative allows to take contact with new approaches in the conception of green spaces and with different creative trends.

To know it better

Ponte de Lima is a beautiful Portuguese city located by the Lima river. It is one of the oldest towns in Portugal because the Romans built a bridge there in the year 1 a. C. and according to research, archaeological sites that demonstrate settlements of thousands of years ago have been found.

The medieval bridge of this village is 380 metres long and had to be extended at that time due to a change in the course of the river. A part with Roman arches-circus and the rest of the bridge are preserved, according to the 14th century.

Ponte de Lima has a nautical club founded in 1991 to promote, at first, canoeing at a municipal level, and from the year 2000 the club was already approaching the level of national canoeing clubs.

Moreover, it is a municipality where nature is very present, in fact, it has the International Garden Festival where activities, exhibitions to promote the taste and worship for the garden and gardening and to defend the environment are held.