Monte de Santa Luzia

The hill above town, crowned by a white basilica, with the view everybody talks about.

Height: 228 m above the sea
Basilica: Built 1904–1959
Funicular: 650 m, since 1923
Entry: Free, small fee for the dome

Place to see

High above Viana stands the Santuário do Sagrado Coração de Jesus, better known as the basilica of Santa Luzia. Architect Miguel Ventura Terra drew it in a neo-Byzantine style that recalls the Sacré-Cœur in Paris; building started in 1904 and took more than half a century.

The reward for coming up is the view: red roofs, the Rio Lima winding inland under the Ponte Eiffel, the beaches and the endless Atlantic. Climb to the top of the dome for the highest point, then walk to the ruins of the Iron Age hillfort a few minutes behind the church.

Don't miss

1The ride up on the funicular, the longest in Portugal
2The top of the dome, for a 360° view over town, river and ocean
3The Citânia de Santa Luzia, stone houses from more than 2,000 years ago
4The rose window inside the basilica when the afternoon sun shines through

Through the years

Iron Age
People build a walled village of round stone houses on the hilltop: the Citânia de Santa Luzia, still visible behind the Pousada.
1904
Work starts on the basilica, designed by Miguel Ventura Terra in a neo-Byzantine style.
1923
The funicular opens and carries visitors from town to the top in minutes.
1959
More than half a century after the first stone, the basilica is finished.

Good to know

The funicular runs every day; times change with the season, so check before you go.
The last part of the dome climb is a narrow staircase: good shoes help.
For the sunset, stand on the terrace in front of the basilica and face the sea.