The small Portuguese city of Viseu boasts everything you want in a tourist destination: friendly people, clean streets, mountain sunsets, Roman remains, an incredible cathedral, and more parks than you can shake a stick at.



Historically, the only thing missing has been... tourists. Today, that’s changing. Since 2013, the number of overnight visitors has doubled to more than 250,000 per year.

The city’s secret? Arts and culture. Five years ago, Viseu elected a new mayor who had a twofold plan for the city’s future – attracting cutting-edge tech firms and stimulating cultural tourism.



Deals with the likes of IBM and telecoms giant Altice are making good the first pledge. To deliver the second, he has signed off a multi-million euro culture and tourism budget and appointed a dynamic director to oversee its expenditure.



Viseu is now very much “on the map” as a cultural city break destination, says Jorge Sobrado, the aforementioned director: “Portuguese visitors have been rediscovering the city again, while foreign visitors are finding out about us for the first time.”



So, how has the turnaround come about? And what lessons might Viseu have for other low-profile, yet high-potential, destinations?