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Braga

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Ricardo Rio

Braga is considered to be one of the youngest cities in Europe and combines perfectly its two-thousand-year old history with invigorating youth and vitality. With an unusual history, it is still known up to today as the city of the Archbishops or as the Portuguese Rome. 

Also, the commitment to promote development based on the transfer of knowledge, technology and eco sustainability has been advertising the city of Braga as a "cluster" of technological industries and an increasingly attractive pole for Investment. It is a city that also has a rich touristic offer. 

Braga has always taken a strategic and central regional role, from Bracara Augusta to the present day, thanks to the privileged geographical location and its dynamism. It plays a leading role in the economy, culture, knowledge and technology of the region and this centrality and relevance provides its inhabitants with an excellent quality of life in various sectors. 

Braga, capital of the Minho region, is the third-largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon and Porto, and has high standards of quality of life based on location and infrastructures. It has a population of 181,954 inhabitants, which represents about 64,000 families, in an area of 183.40 km². Braga has 46% of young population (85.000 young people) and is the youngest district capital in Portugal and one of the youngest in Europe. 

Braga is a technological hotbed, where many internationally successful startups have emerged and is home to a renowned University – University of Minho – and to the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) – a leading international research centre. Bosch Car Multimedia Portugal, Aptiv, Torrestir, Alumínios Navarra, Primavera BSS, WeDo Technologies are some of the most representative companies, among others. The municipality considers that Economic Promotion, Investment Attraction and Internationalization are the key vectors of the strategic measures adopted in order to foster Dynamism, Innovation, Knowledge and Creativity in the Business Sector, towards a new local and regional economic cycle.

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Tourism

With over 2000 years of a very rich history, Braga is a city of huge beauty and heritage richness, which combines tradition with innovation, memory with youth and creativity with conservatism. The city history is deeply connected with Roman Catholic Religion, being known as the Portuguese Rome or the City of Archbishops. The Cathedral of Braga, due to its long history and artistic significance, is one of the most important buildings in the country.

Braga presents places that by their intrinsic devotion and beauty, impose themselves as mandatory benchmarks to visit. A prime example of the European Baroque and the evolution of Braga art, the Bom Jesus do Monte Sanctuary is considered one of the greatest religious tourism highlight of the town and the entire Braga region.

Other types of events also attract tourists, ones that either mix the religious with the profane (like the celebration of the feasts of S. João) or are simply popular (as the reenactment of  "Braga Romana", recalling the period when the city lived under Roman rule).

The city is also the stage of Europe’s biggest White Night. During 48 hours you can listen to great concerts, explore artistic installations and see innovative performances.