The best part of Monção’s old town is the utter lack of tourism. It’s almost exclusively a local scene in chestnut-shaded Praça Deu-la-Deu, where a hand-on-breast statue of its namesake tops a fountain and looks hungrily down over the surrounding cafes.
The Senhora da Vista bastion at the northern end offers a gentle view across the sinuous Rio Minho into Spain. The Capela da Misericórdia at the square’s southern end has a coffered ceiling painted with cherubs.
East of the square is the snug, cobbled old quarter. Two blocks along Rua da Glória is the pretty little Romanesque igreja matriz (parish church), where Deu-la-Deu is buried (look for the stone-carved alcove to the left of the entrance).
