The Shop

Quinta do Santoinho was the home of the Cunha family. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Cunha family was involved in transport, but a poorly resolved business left them bankrupt. It was up to António Cunha, the eldest of 8 fatherless brothers, to take charge of things. In the 1940s, the bus transport activity was returning to the family (Santoinho’s current house being used as a garage). At the end of the decade, tourist excursions were already being organized and, ten years later, António Cunha opened the first travel agency in the district and obtained the first rental bus licenses throughout the country.

Shop History

António Cunha realized that it was in the practices and customs that were disappearing that the main attraction for tourists was found. And he spent that decade, from parish to parish, where there were folkloric ranches and farms for rent, regularly recreating the Minho festivals of his childhood. The success was complete, but the formula became unsustainable for tourism that was progressively more planned in advance: it was necessary to encompass the experiences and culture of Minho in a single space. The solution he found was to return home.
In May 1972, the Cunha brothers’ house permanently hosted this ethnographic, cultural and gastronomic exhibition. Santoinho was founded, by the hands of António Cunha. Over more than 40 years, and always with the originality that characterizes it, Santoinho has become a tourist reference in Minho, receiving visitors from all four corners of the world at all times.
Today, in addition to the festival space, Santoinho develops new attractions, such as the Ethnographic Museum (with a unique collection of costumes) and the Transport Museum (with the history of road passenger transport and an exhibition of old vehicles).

Products and Services

Festival space, Ethnographic Museum and Transport Museum (exhibition of old vehicles).
Permanent exhibition of implements and utensils from the countryside, mills, sinks, granite figures, granaries, a regional wine cellar and old transport vehicles (buses, automobiles, a 19th century locomotive, carriages, a 17th century coach, ox carts and of horses).

Business Hours

Additional information:

June – Saturdays
July – Saturdays
August – Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
September – Saturdays
October – Saturdays
November – Saturdays

Contacts

Parish: Darque
Address: Avenida do Santoinho – , 4935-176 Viana do Castelo
Postal Code: 4935-176 Viana do Castelo
258322159
santoinho@avic.pt

General Data

Main activity: Restaurants, pubs, café and Hotels
Opening Year: 1972
Main Code of Economic Activity (CAE): 56101