Kartodromo de Chaves

In Vilar de Nantes, near Chaves in northern Portugal, the Chaves kartódromo runs an outdoor layout of six hundred and thirty-one metres, seven metres wide, regarded by many as one of the best tracks in the region. Opened in 1997, it offers a technical layout on which you string together timed laps, in a Trás-os-Montes country setting, close to the Spanish border.

Karting stays open to everyone, no licence or experience needed: a briefing, a helmet, and off you go chasing your best lap. The site has changing rooms, a maintenance workshop and a large hall holding up to three hundred people, handy for groups, birthdays and events. The technical layout, prized by the region's drivers, rewards those who get their braking and lines right. The format suits beginners as well as regulars. For hours, it is best to check before coming.

Chaves is a spa town in northern Portugal, in the Trás-os-Montes region, known since Roman antiquity as Aquae Flaviae for its hot springs. Its Roman bridge over the Tâmega, its medieval castle and its smoked-charcuterie specialities, the fumeiro, make it a stop full of character. The region, mountainous and unspoilt, is reached by road from Vila Real or the Spanish border, a short way from Galicia.