Set at the foot of the Serra da Estrela, Seia is a traditional market town with a long history and some of Portugal’s most impressive mountain views.
Recognised as a municipality in 1136, this ancient place is light and airy with broad avenues and a very pleasant ambience, especially in and around the core of its medieval centre.
Taken from the Moors by Portugal’s first king, Afonso Henriques, in 1057, Seia is an attractively sited place containing a number of well-preserved 18th-century houses and a splendid parish church of Romanesque origin resting on the site of the town’s old castle.
It was here that in 1810 the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, set up his headquarters at the height of the Peninsular War in the Casa das Obras (pictured above), which now functions as the Town Hall. Another prominent local landmark is the Solar dos Botelhos, a restored 16th-century granite manor-house with three gorgeous Manueline windows.
The list of places of immense tourist interest in Seia include the Bread Museum (Museu do Pão), a unique attraction dedicated to the promotion of Portuguese bread complete with an on-site store and upmarket restaurant.
Close by stands the excellent Toy Museum (Museu do Brinquedo) where families with young children can spend time in the playroom/workshop and trace the history of toys from many different eras in Portugal and elsewhere around the world.
Seia has a number of other key attractions, most notably the Serra da Estrela Interpretation Centre (CISE) which offers visitors the chance to immerse themselves in nature tourism whilst learning all about the many qualities and characteristics of this spectacular mountain region.
Where to Go in Central Portugal
The whole of the Serra da Estrela area and its vast surroundings is easily accessible from Seia, including the mountain town of Covilhã (the hub of Portugal’s woollen industry), Celorico da Beira (home to some of the finest Serra cheese), the medieval village of Belmonte (birthplace of the famous navigator, Pedro Álvares Cabral) and Guarda, which at 1,053 metres is the highest city in Portugal.
The whole area around Seia is protected within the Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela which covers around 90,000 hectares of prime terrain. Largely rural and extremely scenic, the park has many unusual attractions not far from Seia, including Portugal’s only ski resort and several breeding centres for the magnificent Serra da Estrela sheepdog.
Less than ten kilometres to the east of Seia lies Sabugeiro which, at an altitude of 1,120 metres, is one of the most elevated villages in the whole of the Iberian Peninsula. Another place of interest for people staying in Seia is its close proximity to Torre, which at 1,993 metres (6,539 feet) marks the highest point on mainland Portugal, second only to Pico in the Azores.
Before leaving their accommodation, winter visitors will need to check the roads which are often blocked by snow and ice for short periods from November to May.
Besides Serra da Estrela, Seia (indicated on the Google map below) is also the perfect base from which to enjoy many of the other highlights of central Portugal, such as Viseu (a thriving city in the heart of the Dão wine-growing region) and the magnificent university city of Coimbra no more than a 90-minute drive due west on the IP3.
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