Vila Real

Vila Real is a Portuguese city and capital of the district of Vila Real, located in the North Region, sub-region of Douro and in the former province of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, with 29 112 inhabitants in its urban perimeter ( 2021).

It is the seat of the municipality of Vila Real with an area of ​​378.80 km² and 49,574 inhabitants (2021), subdivided since the administrative reorganization of 2012/2013 into 20 parishes. The municipality is limited to the north by the municipalities of Ribeira de Pena and Vila Pouca de Aguiar, to the east by Sabrosa, to the south by Peso da Régua, to the southwest by Santa Marta de Penaguião, to the west by Amarante and to the northwest by Mondim de Basto .

Located on a plateau at around 450 meters above sea level, on the promontory formed by the confluence of the Corgo and Cabril rivers, where its oldest part is located (Vila Velha), the city is framed in a beautiful natural landscape (Escarpas do Corgo), against the backdrop of the mountains of Alvão and, further away, of Marão. With more than seven hundred years of existence, Vila Real was once known as the "Court of Trás-os-Montes", due to the high number of emblazoned houses that it then had, due to the presence of the nobles who settled here under the influence of the House of the Marqueses of Vila Real, a presence still visible today in the countless coat of arms that attest to the titles of nobility of its historic owners.

(source: www.wikipedia.com)