On this day we went to 2 cities, Braga and Guimarães. This just our visit to Bom Jesus do Monte as we spent more time in the other city. Beautiful park, gardens, and a sanctuary with the most impressive set of steps. Of course, we walked down and then back up. Whooowee!

A nice lake with lots of greenery and you can rent boats too. To the right of this photo is a cafe and children’s playground where we had lunch and let the kids play.

Loved these rails in the park. They were wood but not sure if they were actually real.

An old, but beautiful stone gazebo with a fountain we came across.

Our 1st peak as we walk down the path towards the sanctuary.

Bom Jesus do Monte up close, kind of. The church and staircase were commissioned in 1722 and took 60 years to complete.

I loved looking at all the broken layers of these steps and how each level had a unique fountain and statue. These stairs climb 381 feet (116m).

This is on one of the statues, it almost looked like it was just made of compressed sand.

The Bom in all its glory. Striking! The stairs are meant to have a zigzag shape and the first 5 fountains are dedicated to the 5 senses (sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste).

The interior of the Bom Jesus.

The grotto next door to the chapel.

The view from inside the grotto.