Ask any portuguese if this title rings a bell, and the vast majority will remember: Luso.
Luso is a village in the center north of Portugal, and it's probably one of the best known thermal villages of the country: when most people hear "Luso", the association is more to the water than to the village.
The village gives the name to one of the most famous water brands in Portugal - hence the title, because for years the marketing slogan was Luso: as natural as your thirst!
This water comes from Serra do Buçaco, an amazing forest that is just a few minutes away from the village, and besides the water and the thermal spa is one of the main reasons to visit Luso (and the one that brought me there). The vegetation is absolutely stunning and there are a ton of hiking trails that intersect, so you can do shorter and longer walks easily.
I'll leave that magical place to another, more detailed post, though; the little village does deserve some attention as well, and that's where I'll focus today. Truth be told, there aren't exactly any not-to-miss landmarks here (if we don't count the SPA, that is), but it's worth to get lost in the streets and city park, and and join the mountain village vibe!
I've stayed in one of the oldest hotels, Grande Hotel do Luso, and it's definitely worth the stay:
Besides being very well located - although the village is quite small, so that's not exactly difficult - the rooms are great, as is the breakfast; and the swimming pools are great: how many times were you in a hotel with an olympic size smimming pool??
Right in front of the hotel, the city park is just across the street.
It's nice to see a park so well taken care of: plenty of trees, a well taken cared lawn, and a lot of places to sit and relax in the shade, if rolling on the grass isn't your thing.
Close to the park, we can see the big containers were the water is stored; although if I recall, the newer facilites where the water is bottled were moved to a few kms away.
I had visited Luso years ago, because the first marriage that I was invited to after college was here, since the groom is a natural from the village; and I think it was in this small church!
Of course, straight out of college and with a group of close friends we were more focused on the partying part, so I really didn't payed that much attention to the religious cerimony place... but I digress! Crossing the church yard to the other side, a small street takes us to the main street of the village.
And in this street, you have a view to the Buçaco mountain and forest; the "tunnel" on the right side of the photo is another one of the hotel perks: a direct communication between the hotel and the thermal area!
A fun detail I found out while waking in the main road: every now and then, an old photographic camera in a tripod would appear:
They were usually pointed to old buildings, and if you looked inside, they would show different buildings and scenes as they were decades ago: a fun way to showcase some of the villages's history!
Some buldings served different purposes years ago: the most famous cafe, Rosa Biscoito, was actually the village's casino!
The thermal area is one of the most sought places: apart from a leisure area, several treatments are still performed here, since it's believe Luso water has some therapeutic characteristics.
For what we can read, the first registry of the water usage for therapeutic purposes dates as far as 1775!
I said the thermal are was one of the most sought places, because there's another one that likely wins the crown, and this one is visited by locals and visitors alike:
Fonte de São João
Right after the main café, this fountain pours the famous water 24/7, and it's very hard to find it without anyone filling a recipient with water!
There are even signs to try and prevent abuse and remember some common sense rules, like a limit of 4 carboys per person... that of course, being Portugal, is simply ignored.
There are more streets to get lost and old buildings and famous houses...
... but this is basically it: Luso, in a nutshell.
And the best part?
Just a few minutes away on foot...
A little paradise!
Nature in all it's splendor; but this place needs a proper dedicated post.
Have a great week!
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