Casa Vilar de Rei, private retreat for rural life

When you imagine a rural getaway, surrounded by wild plants, aromatic herbs, birds, rabbits and frogs, immersed in a comforting silence and in a quiet atmosphere, proper of typical villages of the north of Portugal, then this place was just made thinking of you! A typical farm house inserted in lands formerly belonging to the Portuguese Crown, restored in full respect of its moth, with natural materials and techniques of 19th century. A hymn to the rural and authentic lifestyle! This special property and its gardens were recently transformed by the founder of the International Garden Festival of Ponte de Lima and formerly responsible for the Natural Parks and Protected Areas of Portugal! Here, indigenous species and wild herbs predominate, especially the aromatic herbs, a passion of the owner... Gardens, orchards and vegetable gardens in organic production mode are all around the place. All with exclusive use of animal manures and vegetable residues and production techniques exempt from the use of chemicals, to keep it as much authentic as possible in our modern and too fast days. There is a tank of water with frogs, which sing on hot days, birds singing all day and if you're lucky and quiet enough, some rabbits jumping in the fields ahead! The house is currently a reference to many details of vernacular architecture in the Minho region. The rebuilding of the house was due to the use of natural materials, using different types of wood, clay and granite stone of the region. Red and blue oxides and alvaiade in substitution of inks, as well as lime to paint all the walls! All those materials were already used in the past in this farm house, and we made a point of using them again, as environmentally friendly and fully integrated in this ecological and relaxing rural atmosphere! The main house has three bedrooms (each with a private bathroom), an open space with living room, a fully eqquipped kitchen and a dining room! The interiors are full of details, with lots of old agricultural tools, details of animals that existed in times on the farm, old tapestries handmade by Great-grandmother Rosa, that kept the farm until 97 years old, books about the region, nature and wildlife, and so on! Outdoors, enjoy family meals in the old barn house, do a barbecue, enjoy sunny days at the garden or long walks along the village, or in the mythical Caminho of Santiago de Compostela! Guests will have private access to their own house, barbecue area, veranda for "siesta" SHARED AREAS: The wide gardens, vegetable garden, fruit trees, parking area, laundry room and the pool area will be shared with the other house of the property. I'm Marta from You In Portugal, your local guide and helper for anything you might need! I will personnaly do the check-in and show you all the important informations about the space, places to see nearby, local services and so much more! During your stay here, I will be full available to fulfill all your requirements and needs! Also to give you the best recomendations on what is not to be missed in the region, or even to guid you in some special visit or event. It will take you only 15 min driving to get to the historic centre of Ponte de Lima, the oldest town of Portugal. Known as "Terra Rica da Humanidade", Ponte de Lima has to offer you the very best of our region: gastronomy unique, high quality green wines, heritage, landscape, river, museums, culture and traditional festivities all year long. Only at 600 m distance, you will find a local grocery, bakery and caffe. Only 3 km away you have mostly everything you need for your staying; health center, police, fire brigade, supermarkets, pharmacy, petrol station, restaurants and cafes, shops, ATM, hot pool, traditional market, etc. We have at your disposal daily distribution of fresh bread at the door and 4 restaurants of typical Portuguese food within a radius of 2 km with a daily order to take a way. If you are an active person looking for different experiences, we can provide you a wide range of so: - Canoeing at Lima River (20min driving to the Nautical Club of Ponte de Lima) - Hiking and mountain trails, 30min driving - Ecovia (about 70km of pedestrian and cycling paths along the sides of the Lima River) - Horse Riding at Centro Equestre Vale do Lima or along the sides of Lima River, 20min driving - Golf course, 20min driving. - Organised tours to the most important historic centres and cities in the region - Surf, windsurf, kitesurf - Viana Locals School, 35min driving. - Horseback trails, 20min driving - Bike trails, 30min driving - Adventure park (slide, climbing, rappel, circuit of bridges, paintball, canyoning,...), 10min driving - Wine tastings and tours If you don't want to leave the house in order to take the most of it, here they are our home services: - Massages and beauty treatments by previous booking. - Traditional food of the region and wines of excellente quality If you are a Touring Lover and wish to get to know the very best of this region, then we advise you: - Viana do Castelo, 30min driving - Barcelos and its traditional fair every Thursday, 20 min driving - Braga, 30min driving - Guimarães, World Unesco Heritage, 40min driving - Peneda-Gerês National Park, 40min driving - Caminha, Valença and Monção, 50min driving - Porto, World Unesco Heritage, 50min driving - Santiago de Compostela(Spain), World Unesco Heritage, 1h 30 min driving - Douro Valley, World Unesco Heritage, 2h driving And so on! From Porto Airport to Casa de Vilar de Rei - 40min driving At 400 m distance you have public bus to Freixo and Ponte de Lima with conections to all towns of Viana do Castelo, Braga, Porto. So that not a single detail is missed and in order to provide you a worry-free stay, we have at your disposal a Transfer Service from and back to Porto Airport (50min driving), as well as a Car Arrangement for your stay, if you wish so! Not forgettting that this is a rural space where the singing of birds, the croaking of frogs and the natural expressions of wild or domestic animals can often interrupt the silence so characteristic of this place. If you do not love nature or the rural world this is not the most recommended place. In that case tell me and I have other fantastic appropriate offers.