Miranda do Douro (Mirandese:Miranda de l Douro) is a town of 7,500 people (2011) in the Trás-os-Montes region and in the Terras de Miranda of northeastern Portugal. Miranda is a small, but an important historic city on the banks of the Douro river.

Understand

Miranda do Douro (mee-RUHN-duh doo DOH-roo, /mi.ˈɾɐ̃.dɐ du ˈdo.ɾu/)

Visitor information

• 1 Posto de Turismo, Largo Menino Jesus da Cartolinha, ☏ +351 273 430 025, turismo@cm-mdouro.pt. M–Sa 09:00–12:30 & 13:30–18:00 (closes 17:00 Oct–Apr). (updated Jun 2021)

Get in

From Bragança or Mirandela.

The main roads serving Miranda are IC5, EN221, and EN218.

Talk

In the city and surrounding vicinity, most people speak Mirandese, an Asturo-Leonese language and Portuguese. Some residents even speak Castilian due to its proximity to Castile and Leon.

See

Picote

• Douro valley
• 1 Castelo de Miranda do Douro, Largo do Menino Jesus da Cartolinha. The castle has a quadrangular plan, with walls, in granite and schist, crenellated and reinforced at the three external angles by cubes (two rectangular and one hexagonal), involving a considerable plaza of arms, which has been reduced to a large one. To the north, the complex is dominated by the Torre de Menagem, at a height of 682 m above sea level. The village fence encompassed a total perimeter of 600 steps, torn by three broken arch doors: the Senhora da Amparo Gate, the False Gate and the Postigo.  
• 2 Concatedral de Miranda do Douro (Cathedral of Miranda do Douro, Igreja Matriz), Largo da Sé. It is a magnificent example of Mannerist architecture, with some Renaissance and Gothic features. The figure most revered by the people of Miranda, the Child Jesus da Cartolinha, is kept here. For two centuries, it was an important center of religious life; the see was later transferred to Bragança. Behind the church, you can see the ruins of the Old Episcopal Palace. 
• 3 Paços do Concelho ou Câmara Municipal, Largo D. João III, ☏ +351 273 430 020, turismo@cm-mdouro.pt. A magnificent Baroque building located in the central square of the village, Praça de D. João III. 
• 4 Igreja da Misericórdia de Miranda do Douro, Rue de L Postigo 2 (Largo D. João III). Its construction started in 1578. It has a longitudinal plan, composed of a single nave and chancel. 
• 5 Barragem de Miranda. A dam on the Portuguese-Spanish border between Miranda do Douro and Torregamones, Samora, Spain. Built in 1956.  
• 6 Museu da Terra de Miranda, Praça D. João III, n.º 2, ☏ +351 273)417 288, mterramiranda@culturanorte.gov.pt. 10:00-18:00. In the Museum of Terra de Miranda you can appreciate traditional Mirandese clothing. It also has a room for weapons and traps, a traditional kitchen reconstituted to detail and a room dedicated to the masks of the rattles. €2.  

Do

Festevities/Pauliteiros folk dancers.

Eat

• 1 O Mirandês, Rua Dom Dinis 7, Urbanizaçao do Juncal, ☏ +351 273 432 823, info@omirandes.net. Mid-range. (updated Jun 2021)

Sleep

• 1 Hotel Parador Santa Caterina, Largo da Pousada, Estrada Nacional 221, ☏ +351 273 431 005, info@hotelparadorsantacatarina.pt. Four-star, 12-room hotel. €60-81. (updated Jun 2021)