After the visit to the city of the bridges, if, which if you have followed our recommendations, you will have stayed overnight for two nights, the Camino Portugues divides into two.
Some of you will continue along the Camino Portugues. Of these, a few will opt to follow the variant to Braga and the majority will be headed towards Barcelos. Both itineraries are joined in Ponte de Lima.
Others among you will consider more bucolic the idea of walking near the sea and prefer to deviate to follow the Camino Portugues Coastal Route. The Pilgrims who choose the Central route will not return to coincide with those of the coast, until Redondela, in the Spanish province of Pontevedra. Exactly four stages before entering Santiago de Compostela, long enough to exchange experiences on both paths.
Oporto is also a very popular point to start the Camino Portugues. Therefore, today’s day is full of farewells and new encounters. Whatever your case may be, we will continue to accompany you in your journey.
Let’s go on the Camino Portugues!
Today’s stage is largely destined to move away from the city of Oporto. It is not one of the most beautiful stages of the Camino Portugues, but taking the subway to skip this stretch, as some pilgrims do, we do not consider it necessary, unless you are suffering from some kind of physical condition.
Most of the day we will walk on asphalt, through urban environments and some industrial estates. The day concludes in Fajozes, a destination where we can relax, after the bustling Porto.
If you are thinking about walking the Camino de Santiago from Porto tell us what your plans are for the Camino de Santiago and we will contact you to advise you on everything you need.
Itinerary stage Porto – Fajozes
Today we travel 26 kilometres to Fajozes, a quiet town. The layout of this stage runs mostly in urban areas but does not present great difficulties or much unevenness.
Porto (Km. 0). Beginning of stage
Practical tips for this section: Many pilgrims, to avoid the urban environment surrounding the city of Oporto, opt to take the Metro to Araújo or Vilar do Pinhero. We do not recommend it, because although the departure of Oporto does not run through a pleasant environment, it is also part of the pilgrim path. Buen Camino!
The day begins in Plaza Carlos Alberto de Oporto, where the monument to the fallen during the First World War is located. From here, follow the pedestrian street Rua de Cedofeita, heading north, until the Capilla da Ramada Alta (km. 1.4).
From behind the chapel, continue along Rua 9 de Julho. Without leaving the street, we cross a pedestrian passage beneath a block of houses. We go out to Rua da Constituição, cross it and pass under another block of flats and turn left.
Shortly after we pass by the Church of Carvalhido, full of tiles, and continue along the street with the same name until we reach the tunnel under the A-20 motoway (km. 4). At the exit, we took the Rua Montes dos Burgos, until another tunnel under the motorway, this time the A4 (km. 7.9).
Following straight, we cross the railway tracks, above, and arrive at the Church of Araújo (km. 9.3). A 100 metres from the church we find the Plaza de Araújo, where the bust of a doctor is located.
Araújo (Km. 9,4)
Practical advice for this section: At the fork in the Plaza de Araújo we recommend to continue straight ahead since the option of the right turn faces a quite dangerous motorway crossing (Double lane and safety fence in the middle). There are no scenic or touristic reasons to take the option to the right. Buen Camino!
In the Plaza de Araújo, we will find arrows pointing in different directions. Some indicate that we must go straight and others that we must divert to the right. If we take the alternative path to the right, we will enter a narrow path, crossing several streets to the Rua Sousa Prata, for which we leave towards the Roman bridge of Barreiros and continue until the EN13 road.
The option we recommend is to go straight ahead. After the subway tracks, we enter Custió. Leaving the road on our right, continue straight down the street that descends to Ponte de Moreira, which crosses the River Leça (km. 10.8).
After this, we cross the highway A41 by a flyover and we continue on the right, by the Airport Avenue, until a large roundabout. We Continue along the hard shoulder of the N13 road to the Moreira de Maia Cemetery (km 14).
Moreira da Maia (Km. 14)
Practical tips for this section: Don’t forget to stop at the towns of Mosteiró and Gião. Buen Camino!
In Moreia da Maia, we turn right on Rua Mestre Clara and 600 metres later, we turn right again onto Rua Manuel Baptista Barrios. Almost immediately, we turn left on the crossing that bears the same name and then right by Rua Engenheiro Frederico Ulrich.
Shortly after we turn to the left again on a street (or road) called do Outeiro, entering in the Maia Industrial Estate. Keeping in the same direction, and after leaving the polygon, we cross various village centres until entering Mosteiró (km. 17.6).
Within walking distance and on the right, at the bottom of a wide street of two ways divided by trees, we see the Church of Vilar (km. 19.1). Without deviating, we end up on the N306 road, with hardly any hard shoulder, and we advance through it until Gião (km. 21.9).
By Rua da Igreja, turn right, avoiding the dangerous road. We pass by the Church of Gião, which is on our right, and we continue advancing in light ascent along quiet streets. We cross the village of Tresval and arrive next at the stone Cross of Vairão, protected with a small gate, from where we continue to our destination today, Fajozes.
Fajozes (Km. 26). End of stage
Practical tips for this section: Fajozes is a small town that does not have many points of interest, but after a visit to the city of Oporto, the pilgrim will appreciate some tranquillity. See you tomorrow!
Some pilgrims opt to lengthen the stage to nearby locations. We stay in this quiet town, enjoying the company of locals and other pilgrims.
During your afternoon stroll around the town, you can visit the Cruzeiro de Fajozes and the 18th-century São Pedro de Fajozes Church.
Comments stage Porto – Fajozes
Here are some recommendations on today’s stage and we suggest some regional dishes, although Porto’s cuisine is still very present.
How to get to Porto
Porto is very well connected. Its international airport, Sa Carneiro, has continuous flights to the main European capitals and to the main Spanish cities.
From the airport to the centre of the city the easiest thing is to get around by Metro if you want to start the Camino de Santiago from Oporto Cathedral. However, many pilgrims choose to link the Camino Portugues from the same airport, which is only 2.5 kilometres from the Jacobean path. It is important to keep in mind that this link is not signposted.
Bus services from the main Spanish cities are also frequent. From Madrid, Salamanca, Seville or Santiago there are two daily buses, one by day and the other by night.
If you don’t want to worry about travel and logistics associated with the accommodation, you can get in touch with us and we will take care of everything.
Precautions stage Porto – Fajozes
Today’s stage does not imply any difficulty. The whole route is perfectly signposted and during the day we will find services continuously.
Gastronomy stage Porto – Fajozes
During today’s stage, we will still find a lot of the gastronomy of the Porto region.
- Goat and Fried Pork
- Charcuterie from Chaves
- Vinho Verde and Sweet Bread
Services stage Porto – Fajozes
Meet the main health care services, cafes, ATMs, restaurants and are in this stage of the Portuguese Way of St. James.
Map stage Porto – Fajozes
Consult the map with the route, points and towns along the stage.
Profile stage Porto – Fajozes
Consult the profile of the stage: altitude and degree of difficulty of each section.
What to do stage Porto – Fajozes
Throughout the day you will pass through small towns that although they do not have great tourist attractions, they do have a certain charm. Now, we will give you details of each of the places.
Carvalhido Church
The Church of Carvalhido, or Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is located in Cedofeita, on Rua Prelado. The construction of the temple began in 1967 and ended two years later. At the entrance of the temple, you can see an image with the Porto Jerusalem way.
Moreira da Maia
Moreia da Maia belongs to the Council of Maia. It has an area of almost nine square kilometres and a population of 13,000 inhabitants.
In the town you can visit the Monastery of São Salvador de Moreira, Edifício da Cooperativa Popular de Moreira da Maia, Capela de Nossa Senhora Mãe dos Homens, the Cruzeiro do Padrão de Moreira and the Ponte de Moreira.
Monasterio do Divino Salvador de Moreira
The Monastery of the Divino Salvador de Moreira is located in the town of Maia and is managed by the Order of the Cónegos Regrantes de Santo Agostinho. The convent church has a longitudinal plant, with naves covered by barrel vaults.
The monastery follows the same architectural guidelines as the Monastery of Grijó and the many monuments in Northwestern Portugal.
Mosteiró
Mosteiró is a Parish in the Council of Vila do Conde. It has an area of three square kilometres and a population of almost 1,000 inhabitants.
In the village, you can visit the parish of S. Gonçalo de Mosteiró which owes its name to a small monastery of nuns that existed in 1059 in the village.
Gião
Gião is a Parish in the Council of Vila do Conde. It occupies an area of almost six square kilometres and has a population of almost 1,800 people.
At 100 metres from the route of the Pilgrim Path, the Parish of Gião, dating from the 18th century, is erected. Its façade is covered in tiles, in 1965. On both sides of the cover, Santo António and the passage of the Annunciation are represented. In the tympanum, you can see the figures of two archangels.
Fajozes
Fajozes is a Parish of the Council of Vila do Conde. It has an area of almost six square kilometres with a population of 1,500 residents.
On its streets, you can visit the Cruzeiro de Fajozes and the Church of São Pedro de Fajozes, from the 18th century. A temple attesting to the richness of the locality at that time.
