If any city can be described as adorable, then it is Guimarães. Its pedestrianised heart is a web of gently winding cobbled streets and washing-hung alleyways bejewelled with tiny bars and cute cafés. Those alleyways lead to pretty plazas that, rather satisfyingly, tend to be any shape but square, while its dinky, idiosyncratic shops, specialising in lacework, hats or birdcages, are a joy to discover – without a Body Shop or a Zara in sight.

Guimarães boasts some 50,000 inhabitants, yet it has the sleepy air of a village. Even amid the hullabaloo that surrounded its status last year as European Capital of Culture, people still took the trouble to bid me good day in the street. And the party isn’t over yet – a diverse programme of cultural events continues until midsummer. But the city’s appeal goes far deeper than the chance to peruse quirky sculptures in public spaces.

On an imposing section of city wall bold white letters proclaim “Aqui Nasceu Portugal” – Portugal was born here. The nation’s first king, Afonso Henriques, made Guimarães his capital in the early 12th century before driving the Moors from the lands to the south.

Lots of granite – in pavements, window frames, doorways and those mighty battlements – lends the city a solid, down-to-earth mien. Senior citizens are resplendent in slacks, ties and tweedy jackets, as though still waiting for the Sixties to arrive, while café windows offer pastries such as toucinho do céu and tortinhas that were invented by the city’s nuns hundreds of years ago.

On the other hand, a large student population breathes life, energy and creativity into the streets, squares, cafés and bars.

The city’s topography, undulating over ridges and valleys and encircled by wooded hills, adds to the pleasure of simply strolling and discovering such curiosities as the huge granite dying tanks where the city’s tanning industry thrived until the Fifties. But there are also plenty of more specific attractions.

The José de Guimarães International Centre of Arts is a spectacular cluster of giant cubes that houses a startling collection of primitive art. In the Santa Clara convent, the Alberto Sampaio Museum showcases religious iconography, from small painted stone statues of saints to 9ft 18th-century angel candleholders. There’s also a fairy-tale castle on the edge of the city dating from 10th century, no more than an empty shell, but offering an excellent perspective of the city from its ramparts. A stone’s throw away, the 15th-century Ducal Palace scores high on armoury and tapestries.

The most agreeable diversion of all, though, is the 10-minute cable-car ride over residents’ back gardens to the 2,000ft-high peak known as Penha. At the summit there are restaurants and cafés, grottoes and walking trails, and picnic tables beneath the pines. It’s the perfect place to spend a tranquil afternoon, drinking in lovely views of a captivating city.

DID YOU KNOW?

Many of its old houses are a half-timbered mixture of wood and granite, unique to Guimaraes.



GETTING THERE

TAP Portugal (0845 601 0932; flytap.com) flies from Gatwick to Porto 14 times a week, with one-way fares from £59. Guimarães is about 30 miles (50km) northwest of the airport – a taxi will take you there in half an hour for about €50/£43; direct buses leave every two or three hours, take 50 minutes and cost €7.50/£6.50 one-way.

PACKAGES

Sunvil (020 8758 4722; sunvil.co.uk) offers three nights’ b & b at the Pousada de Santa Marinha, plus Group A car hire and flights with TAP Portugal from £412 per person.

THE INSIDE TRACK

There is free Wi-Fi in most of the old town’s public spaces.

Note that some restaurants still allow smoking if they have appropriate air-extraction systems: Vira, for example, has a whole floor dedicated to smoking diners.

If you have a car then the faded grandeur of Casa de Sezim, a 14th-century manor house with award-winning vineyards about 15 minutes’ drive from Guimarães, would be a memorable place to stay (00351 253 523000; sezim.pt).

€1.25/£1 gets you a coffee and a pastry at Pastelaria Clarinha on Toural square – English is spoken and the pastries are helpfully labelled. A bargain.

If you want to take port home as a souvenir, the best recent year to ask for is 2007 – a bottle of Dalva will set you back about €60/£52.

THE BEST HOTELS

Pousada de Nossa Senhora da Oliveira ££

In the middle of Guimarães’s most historic street – in reality a medieval alley – this former manor house is a wonderfully old-fashioned, warm, welcoming gem, festooned with wood-panelling and filled with the aroma of polish. The splendid dining room has pleasing views of one of the city’s main squares (00351 253 514157; pousadas.pt; double b & b from €90/£78).

Hotel de Guimarães ££

Modern, stylish and comfortable, with a spa, a pleasant 10-minute stroll from the historic centre (253 424800; hotel-guimaraes.com; double b & b from €90/£78).

Pousada de Santa Marinha ££

On a hill overlooking the city, this 12th-century former convent takes the breath away: deep carpets stretching forever down whitewashed corridors, vaulted ceilings, majestic lounges, magnificent gardens and a beautiful terrace on which to sip a glass of port (253 511249; pousadas.pt; double b & b from €110/£95).

THE BEST RESTAURANTS

Cervejaria Martins £

Get cosy with the locals around a horseshoe-shaped bar beneath football scarves that decorate the ceiling. Wine is on tap, the friendly bar staff speak English and the pregos – little steak sandwiches – and other dishes are extremely moreish (Largo do Toural, 33; 253 416330).

Nora do Zé da Curva ££

Brothers Angelino and José Carlos serve up heroic portions of hearty beef, pork and salt cod dishes in a simply decorated square room seating about 25 diners. Wash down supper with one of Portugal’s best wines, CARM, from the nearby Douro Valley (Rua da Rainha Dona Maria II, 125; 253 554256; noradozedacurva.com).

Vira Bar ££

A modern approach to traditional regional cuisine; dining rooms extend over three floors of a handsome old house. Order in advance for such specialities as roasted leg of wild boar or partridge stew; vegetarians are catered for (Alameda de São Dâmaso, 27; 253 056296; virabar.com).

What to avoid

Don’t sing the praises of nearby Braga, or its football team – rivalry between the two cities is fierce.

On Friday and Saturday nights the old town is filled with carousing students until the small hours – think twice about staying in the area if sleep is a priority.

Be wary of ordering three-course meals: appetisers alone can be substantial, while starters are almost the same size as main courses – enormous.