Set high above the River Douro, 12 km west of Peso da Régua
across a picturesque valley, Mesão Frio is one of the
most charming villages in the region. Famous for its chestnut
cakes, the town boasts an impressive main street lined with
old lime trees and stately 18th-century manor houses.
What to see. The main attraction in Mesão Frio is its
Gothic parish church of São Nicolau, which has lovely
painted ceiling panels and seven Romanesque tombstones. Nearby,
the former 18th-century Franciscan monastery of São Francisco
has been converted into the town hall, with the tourist information
centre housed in its cloisters.
Nearby. Situated above the main road on the western outskirts
of Mesão Frio, the elegant Solar da Rede is a privately-owned
pousada hotel set in a 40-hectare vineyard featuring a fine
Baroque gate crowned by animals and an iron-adorned fountain.
