During the peninsular wars, Gouveia's castle was destroyed, but the medieval quarter survived, with its Jewish neighborhood of Biqueira, the S. Julian church, and urban characteristics. The main architectural structures are in the city centre, and they go back to the 18th century, especially the St. Peter's church, a small cathedral, the library and the museum building, the city hall, an 18th-century Jesuit college, and several churches and chapels. The biggest icon is a 16th-century building called casa da torre, which has a "pelourinho" in front from the same period as the building itself to commemorate the autonomy attained by Gouveia from King Manuel I.  Gouveia's location offers views over the Mondego valleys with the horizon dominated by the mountains and highlands of Beira Alta region. With wide horizons that allow people to have one of the widest views in Portugal over almost the entire Beira Alta region, Gouveia features a path to the highest geographic point of continental Portugal, with astonishing views over the valley. The biggest Portuguese river, Mondego, begins in a place called Mondeguinho (little mondego) in the heart of the national park of Serra da Estrela in Gouveia's administrative area. The Ecological Park of Gouveia is located in a rural area just outside the city limits in Quinta da Borrachota. With an area of 6 hectares, the park has flora and fauna distributed along its paths as well as support infrastructures and information for visitors about the environmental region that surrounds the city. Near by, CERVAS—Centro de Ecologia, Recuperação e Vigilância de Animais Selvagens (centre for ecology, recovery, and monitoring of wildlife centre)—has its installations. CERVAS is a national park of Serra da Estrela, managed by ALDEIA Association. Its goals are to identify and solve problems relating to the conservation and management of the wildlife and its habitats. The main focus of this work is related to the recovery and treatment of the wildlife and the release of individuals into the wild. Administratively, the municipality is divided into 16 civil parishes ("freguesias"):  The municipality promotes an annual literary and painting award named after two of the greatest 20th-century Portuguese authors and artists as an homage to their home town: writer, philosopher, and teacher Vergílio Ferreira (born in Melo, Gouveia) and painter Abel Manta (also born in Gouveia).