About Tiago Vilaça
I am a walking guide in Braga. I have climbed the Bom Jesus stairway several hundred times and I still count the steps differently depending on where I start, which is the short version of why this site exists.
The counting problem, which explains the rest
The Confraria do Bom Jesus do Monte, which owns and runs the sanctuary, counts 573 steps from the portico to the churchyard: 376 up to the Five Senses, then 104, then 93. English Wikipedia says 583. Both numbers are published in good faith. The Confraria’s own page separately counts 34 more stairs below the churchyard, so where you start and stop moves the total.
Where two sources differ, I give both figures and say which one I use. The stairway page does this at length, and the funicular page does it again with two engineers whose roles the English-language sources have reversed.
Why I built it
People arrive in Braga trying to buy a ticket for Bom Jesus do Monte. There is no ticket. The grounds are free and open around the clock, the basilica is free, and the only fare on the hill is the funicular, which is a couple of euros paid on the spot. Once you know that, the question changes: not which ticket, but whether you want somebody with you and how you are getting up. The tickets page is that answer in full, and the cost page builds the rest of the day up from zero.
The tours are the other half of it. I have listed 22 guided products that reach Bom Jesus. 11 of them go on to Guimarães and 11 do not, and exactly one includes the funicular ticket. Those two facts decide more about your day than the price does, so the comparison and the reviews are built around them rather than around a ranking.
Who runs this site
I am not the sanctuary. It belongs to the Confraria do Bom Jesus do Monte, whose address, telephone number and email sit in the footer of every page here and whose own site is bomjesus.pt. If you need to ask about a mass, a wedding, or whether the basilica is open on a particular morning, ask them directly.
I am also not a tour operator. I cannot change, cancel or refund a booking. What I can do is tell you what a tour includes, what its reviewers actually wrote, and when the train would serve you better than a tour would, which from Porto is fairly often. The Porto page compares the two.
How it is paid for
If you book a tour through a link here, GetYourGuide pays me a small commission and you pay the same price you would have paid anyway. The details are in the affiliate disclosure.
Corrections
If a number here is wrong, or a fare has moved, or a bus no longer runs the way I say it does, tell me. I will fix it and say that I have. Contact is here.
Frequently asked questions
Are you the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte?
No. The sanctuary belongs to the Confraria do Bom Jesus do Monte, which runs it, maintains it and answers for it; their contact details are in the footer of every page here. I am an independent guide writing about the place, not a voice for it.
Do you sell tickets or run tours?
Neither. There is no ticket to sell, because entry to the grounds and the basilica is free, as the tickets page explains. The tours listed here are run by other companies and booked through GetYourGuide, so I cannot amend or cancel a booking.
Where do the numbers on this site come from?
Where sources give different figures, both are listed with their source: 573 steps from the Confraria against 583 from Wikipedia, two different funicular fares from two different guides, two different journey times for the same bus. The stairway page is the clearest example.