Northern Portugal is where you are most likely to find the real Portugal and a more traditional way of life in small communities. And the further north you go, the more traditional are towns with some even retaining their traditional seafaring traditions.

From Porto north to the Spanish border is the Costa Verde, the Green Coast.. so called, probably, because it is lush in natural vegetation owing to the mighty rains that can sweep in from the Atlantic ocean. The region includes the provinces of Douro Litoral and the Minho.

A large town worth visiting is Viana do Castelo, a famous port lying at the mouth of the Rio Lima. In the 15th Century Joăo Velho (who charted the Congo) sailed from here.