The conference will take place in Hotel do Parque situated in the hotel complex of the Natural Park of Bom Jesus do Monte which surrounds the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus. This is located 6kms east of Braga, one of the oldest towns in Portugal, of Roman origin.

Travel

Bom Jesus is about 60kms from Porto international airport. There is a low-cost shuttle service from Braga to the airport (direct), which can also be reached by train. There are regular buses from Braga to Bom Jesus. Taxi is also an option.

See public transport options and prices below.

The taxi option (€55) becomes competitive if shared with other participants. Participants interested in sharing taxis please send an email to Ms Paula Rodrigues asking for access to a Google spreadsheet where they can enter their travel details, so that the organization can propose a shared taxi schedule. (Please give a gmail address if you have one.)

Public transport options: (details below)

Details (please note that prices are subject to change):

Option	Price (1 way)	Price (return)	Time (1 way, estim.)	Timetable | Tickets
(a)	€3.2	€6.4	1h06m
(b)	€1.85	€3.70	33m
(c)	€8	€14	50m
(d)	€55	-	50m
(e)	€1.65	-	20m	(bus 02: Estacao I)
(f,h)	€10	-	15m
(g)	€1.65	-	20m	(bus 02: Carmo)

Social programme

Tuesday afternoon (2pm) the party will visit the UNESCO World Heritage historical old city of Guimarães (25km SE of Braga) and have dinner there.

Planned schedule:

Map

Curiosities

The Bom Jesus Park originated in 1806 from vacant land located in the vicinity of the church that was donated to the sanctuary. Since then, trees were planted formed clearings, a large artificial lake was opened, paths and terraces were built. To this set caves of romantic inspiration were added which made Bom Jesus a place to visit and sojourn.

The Bom Jesus funicular was the first built in the Iberian Peninsula (1880-1882). It was the initiative of Manuel J. Gomes (1840-1894), a businessman from Braga who commissioned the project from Niklaus Riggenbach (1817-1899), the well-known Swiss engineer and locomotive builder. The project was directed locally by Raoul Mesnier du Ponsard (1848-1914), a Portuguese engineer of French origin.

This funicular, which had a great impact at its time, is the oldest in the world powered by water ballast and still in regular service: water is loaded into the car at the top of the hill, which weights it down as it slides to the bottom, at the same time drawing the lighter, drained car up the hill, where the process starts all over again.

The funicular track is 274 meters long and descends 116 meters, giving an average gradient of around 42%. Journey time is 2.4 to 4 minutes and its capacity is 38 passengers per car. Its timetable is from 8am to 8pm, every half hour.

The Bom Jesus monocular. The popular expression "ficar a ver Braga por um canudo" ('get to see Braga through a pipe') comes from the existence of a monocular in Bom Jesus through which people can see the city from a distance.

The slogan means not achieving what you wish, wanting something and not getting it, a frustrated expectation, be deceived, cheated. The origin of this meaning is obscure and subject to some debate among semanticists.

Miraculous drive. Everyone in Portugal knows the spot where, in the road leading to Bom Jesus, cars move up alone in reverse. It is a short stretch of road (with tar in poor condition) where drivers often experience feeling their car moving up in reverse with no gear on and reaching speeds of around 20 km/h. Physics shows this to be an optical illusion but for many years this was regarded as a misterious spot in which people would gather on weekends to repeat the experience over and over again.