São Xisto, in São João da Pesqueira, right in the heart of the Douro Wine Region, is one of our favorite villages in the region. Despite being small, mostly dedicated to tourism and easily visited in 1 to 2 hours, this village conquers for the scenery it offers and for the calm that it is.
Since our visit, where the village was exclusively dedicated to rural tourism, a village development project has emerged, with the recovery of old structures such as the cellar and the olive oil press.
The predominance of schist is visible right at the entrance of the village, where there is a sign with its name. From here, the road continues for a few meters, through curves and counter-curves, until the entrance to the village, where there is an atrium where cars can be parked. Although there are other parking lots within the village, for those who, like us, are going to discover it without staying here, we recommend leaving the car here and continuing on foot.
In this area, you will find the statue and the viewpoint of the repentant angel. From here, the road goes through houses with peculiar and curious names, such as Fox House.
After visiting the village, we recommend returning to the main road and discovering, about 500 meters away, the Ferradosa Rail Bridge, an all-iron bridge over the Douro River. Here, you can follow the bridge on foot, always with the care that the situation demands. You can still wait to see the old trains that pass here – in our case, we saw two trains pass spaced by about 50 minutes to 1 hour.
You can also go boating in this area, heading to the Ferradosa Marina. Returning to the municipality of São João da Pesqueira, we recommend a stop at the São Salvador do Mundo Viewpoint, one of the most beautiful viewpoints in the region, overlooking another point that you can get to know: the Valeira Dam.
In São João da Pesqueira, besides a region full of history and culture, you will find good food at very affordable prices, so we recommend stopping here.
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