Barcelos is a Portuguese city in the District of Braga, in the Northern region and in the Cávado sub-region.

It is soothes of a municipality with 378,9 km ² of area, subdivided in 61 parishes. The municipality is limited to the north by the municipalities of Viana do Castelo and Ponte de Lima, to the east by Vila Verde and Braga, to the southeast by Vila Nova de Famalicão, to the southwest by Póvoa de Varzim and to the west by Esposende.

The highest point of the county is located in the high of São Gonçalo, at 488 meters of altitude, in the parish of Fragoso.

Located north of Porto, the city of Barcelos is known for its handmade ceramics, especially the Barcelos Rooster - a colorful rooster considered a national icon and often used as a symbol of Portugal. The fortified medieval town extends on a hill above the river Cavado, and its charming streets are flanked by baroque houses.

The legend of the Galo de Barcelos
According to the legend, a crime was committed in Barcelos and the local inhabitants were afraid, because the culprit had not yet been discovered. One day, a Galician pilgrim arrived in the city and, as he was a stranger, he became a suspect. The authorities decided to arrest him, despite his claiming his innocence. Nobody believed that this stranger would be on his way to Santiago de Compostela.

The pilgrim was sentenced to death by hanging, but before his execution, the Galician asked to see the judge who had convicted him. When he arrived at the judge's house, he was at a banquet with his friends. The pilgrim again declared his innocence, and in the face of the disbelief of all present, he pointed to the roast rooster that was on the table and said: "If I am innocent, this rooster will sing three times."

But what seemed impossible became reality! When the pilgrim was about to be hanged, the rooster rose and sang three times. The judge was so astonished by this miracle that he freed the pilgrim. A few years later, the pilgrim returned to Barcelos and erected a monument in praise of the Virgin Mary and St. James.

Since then, colorful pot roosters have been sold all over the country as a symbol of good luck.

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The municipality of Barcelos contains in itself a wealth of potential and tourist opportunities. Marked deeply by the history that stems from the history and foundation of Portugal, Barcelos is a county worth visiting.

In this application you can start now to plan your visit to Barcelos, visiting virtually. Here you will find all the tourist offer of the county from the architectural and archaeological patrimony, the offer of accommodation, the places of diversion, passing through the equipment of support to the tourist activity, the Way of Santiago, the baths, etc. Some routes proposed by the Autarchy will also be latent to make the most of your visit.

Besides being able to visit all this offer in a very simple and comfortable way, the application also allows to unload all the elements present in the application for the main GPS systems in the market.

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Typical Snacks: Cod fried, Codfish, Cod fito with onion, Cooked Chispe, Meat sausage, Blood with homemade bread, Ham with olives, Ham sandwiches, Sardines cooked, Sardines pastry, Chorizo ​​pastry.

Typical Dishes: Rojões a Minhota, Papas de sarrabulho, Homemade chicken rice, Roasted octopus on the grill, Cod roasted on the fire, Cod in the oven, Cooked Portuguese, Veal in the style of Barcelos, Lamprey rice, among others.

Regional Sweets: Milk-cream, Milk-cream with chila, Homemade pudding, among others.

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The climate of Barcelos, due to the fact that it lies between the mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, is typically temperate atlantic, that is, with four well defined seasons. Winters are quite pluvial and cold, and generally with moderate Southwest winds. The wind can also blow from the North, usually strong, which usually causes a drop in temperature, these winds are designated as Nortadas. In very cold years snowfall can occur, however due to global warming the snowfall is a very rare occurrence. The last snowfall in the city was on January 9, 2009. The Springs are typically cool with large openings and gentle winds. Morning breezes occur more frequently, especially at higher altitudes. In the valley of Cávado, at low altitude, it is normal to have morning fog. Of note is the month of May which is quite conducive to thunderstorms due to the warming of the humid air with the arrival of summer. The summers are warm and sunny with gentle winds of East. In the cooler days, spontaneous rainfall can occur spontaneously, these rains are very important for the vegetation of the region, because it replenishes the sheets of water which makes the region rich in vegetation during the whole year, by which it is known as Verde Minho . Autumns are mild and pluvial, usually with moderate winds. As the temperature drops, rainfall increases. There is a greater frequency of fog, mainly in the valley of the Cávado where the fogs dense more dense.

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