Discover Novelas through three distinct themes: milling on the Rio Sousa, church architecture, and a circular route through vineyards and cultivated fields. The cultural themes and the landscape route appeal to different interests, without requiring a fixed itinerary. When planning your stay, you can decide whether to focus on a specific place to visit, building history or a tour of your own.

Mill on the Rio Sousa

The Moinho da Ponte de Novelas is located in the Ponte district of Novelas, on the Rio Sousa. Visitors can experience traditional milling for themselves and learn about and understand how the mill mechanism works. The interest therefore lies not only in the building: its operation itself becomes part of the experience. For travellers interested in traditional technology, the mill offers a different cultural perspective from the churches’ architectural features.

Church Architecture and Building History

The Igreja Paroquial de Novelas has a modernist architectural style. Its main façade has an axis with lobed openings and an open narthex. In the broad nave, pointed diaphragm arches divide the space. A narthex is an entrance area or vestibule; diaphragm arches are the arches that divide the nave. The façade’s axis structures the exterior view, while the arches in the nave shape the interior space.

The Igreja do Divino Salvador was consecrated on 17 August 1941. The present-day church was built using stone quarried at Ribada Alta in Lodares (Lousada municipality); historically, the church had three altars. The date of consecration, the origin of the building material and the former furnishings offer different ways to explore the building’s history: as well as the date, the stone’s origin and the historical furnishings contribute to the story of this place of worship.

Circular Route, River and Bridge

A route description uploaded in 2021 identifies the Caminho pelo Vale do Sousa – Penafiel, Bustelo e Novelas as a 23.39-kilometre circular route. It follows rural paths and passes through vineyards and cultivated fields. The route and landscape take centre stage, while the mill and churches offer their own architectural and cultural themes. Trail conditions may change; check the route before setting out.

Year-round fishing is permitted on the Rio Sousa for sport fishing competitions, as well as for training and instruction, in the section extending 500 metres upstream and 500 metres downstream of the EN106 bridge in Novelas. This use of the river differs from the mill experience: here, the permitted purposes and the specified stretch of river set the parameters.

An official infrastructure update dated 19 March 2026 reports that, during the renovation of the Ponte de Novelas, the pedestrian area was extended with a metal structure.

Discover more destinations: Penafiel, Canelas, Abragão, Duas Igrejas, Santa Marta, Portela, Entre-os-Rios, Sebolido.

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