2 Best Sights in Northern Portugal, Portugal

An exceptional baroque mansion believed to have been designed by Nicolau Nasoni (architect of Porto's dashing Clérigos Tower), the Casa de Mateus sits 4 km (2½ miles) east of Vila Real. Its U-shape facade—with high, decorated finials at each corner—is pictured on the Mateus Rosé wine label (though that is the full extent of the association, as the winemaker is not based here). After your guided tour of the house, you are free to explore the formal gardens, which are enhanced by a "tunnel" of cypress trees that shade the path. A longer version of the tour also takes in the chapel, with its even more extravagant facade, and a temporary exhibition.

The elegant rooms in this baroque mansion, which houses a museum of the same name, are furnished in 18th-century style and display silver and porcelain collections. The ground floor of the palace is flagstone, which allowed carriages to run through the interior to the stables beyond. At the back of the palace is a formal garden with decorative tiles.