In the heart of the Lima Valley, the unique and genuine beauty of the oldest town in Portugal hides deep roots and ancestral legends. It was Teresa, Countess of Portugal, who, in the distant date of March 4th of 1125, signed the town’s charter, calling it "Terra de Ponte” (Bridge Land). Years later, already in the fourteenth century, Pedro I, taking into account the strategic position of Ponte de Lima, ordered it to be walled, which resulted in a medieval walled burg with nine towers. Two of these are still standing and there are traces of several others and of the whole defensive structure built at the time. The access to the town is made through six doors.