The UECT European Cycling Tourism Week 2024 in Portugal from June 29 to July 6, 2024

After Spain in 2023, here is Portugal in 2024, specifically Vila Pouca de Aguiar in the northeast, in the Alto Tâmega region, which is hosting the European Cycling Tourism Week.

Source: CP – Photos: ©UECT

Vila Pouca de Aguiar (Portugal) is a small town of 12,000 inhabitants, located 120 km northeast of Porto and 30 km north of Vila Real. The Spanish border is only 50 km away, and Santiago de Compostela is 230 km away.

A land of gold, stone, and water

A land of gold, stone, and water: this is how the region defines itself. Vila Pouca de Aguiar was chosen for its proximity to the Alto Douro Valley and its tributaries, its sunny climate without extreme heat, its unique conditions for cycling tourism, and for hosting this European event. This authentic territory is unknown to most foreign visitors, where life moves slowly, with well-maintained roads and little traffic.

The region also offers many tourist attractions, monuments, natural parks, bucolic landscapes, rich gastronomy, and, of course, vineyards (a UNESCO World Heritage site) that have been producing wine for some two thousand years, with Port wine being its main production.

A region with rich heritage

Vila Pouca de Aguiar and its tourist surroundings can be discovered on Planet Portugal: Pedras Salgadas, with its 20-hectare park boasting rich flora and fauna and sparkling water springs – Aguiar Castle, built between the 9th and 10th centuries, rests on a gigantic granite rock, offering a magnificent 360-degree view – the ancient gold, lead, and silver mines of Tresminas – the Alto Tâmega, Daivões, and Gouvães hydroelectric dams, part of the Rede Natura 2000 project – Alvão Natural Park, the granaries of Travassos village, the Bilhó waterfalls, the mythical N2 road that crosses Portugal from north to south, and, of course, Mount Senhora da Graça, a sanctuary and mythical place where key stages of the cycling Tour conclude.

On the cycling program

For cycling, there will be three fully signposted daily routes (50 – 80 – 120 km) for five days, plus a discovery route of 60/70 km on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The program includes routes in a region of small mountains with elevation gain accessible to all cyclists with a minimum of training, circuits at altitudes between 771 m and 1,330 m; plan gearing adapted to individual ambitions.

For companions, the visit program will focus exclusively on tourist sites with French and English-speaking guides.

As for entertainment, it will be organized every evening for participants to promote their full integration into the local community.

Accommodation

The UECT federal campsite will be divided into three distinct zones within the town, as appropriate: two areas on grass/gravel/small Portuguese cobblestones can accommodate a total of 250 motorhomes and caravans, and one site exclusively for tents with 55 pitches on grass/gravel. Services will also be available by reservation for camping: electricity, catering, and other aspects related to the operation of activities.

Various other accommodation options have been listed in the town and within a 10 km radius (list on the website), with a capacity to host 800 participants.

The organization of this eighteenth European Cycling Tourism Week UECT has been entrusted to the Portuguese Cycling Federation – Cycling for All, in close collaboration with the European Cycling Tourism Union (UECT) and in partnership with the Municipality of Vila Pouca de Aguiar.