A3 (Portugal)

A3 is a motorway in Portugal, connecting Valença

Valença, Portugal

Valença is a city in Valença Municipality, Portugal. It is a half-castle and half-land city. Bordering Galicia, Valença is also a famous Portuguese landmark to view an ancient castle town. These two parts of this city are not separated from each other and is also near to Viana Do Castelo....

 and Porto

Porto

Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...

 via Braga

Braga

Braga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and the third major city of the country. Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the World...

. A3 is operated by Brisa - Auto-estradas de Portugal

Brisa - Auto-estradas de Portugal

Brisa – Auto-estradas de Portugal, S.A. is Portugal-based international transportation company. The group's largest business area is highway management, in which it is the largest concessionaire in its home country. Founded in 1972, Brisa also has significant operations in countries including the...

. It has a total length of 112 km and coincides with the European itinerary number 1.

This motorway leaves the urban IC23 circular motorway around Porto and Gaia. This motorway passes through Maia, Braga and to the border town Valença. It is an important route for travellers who desire to enter Spain and the Spanish state called Galicia. The motorway is a toll road, and most of the route north is climbing steadily until reaching Spain. The motorway is linked by a bridge on the frontier and another motorway to link with Vigo and Pontevedra which is in Galicia. It is under the care of Brisa S.A