The municipality population in 2011 was 9,878,[1] in an area of 361.52 square kilometres (139.58 sq mi).

The municipality is located in the District of Guarda, Region Centro, sub-region Beira Interior Norte.

The municipality is served by the Vila Franca das Naves train station on the Beira Alta line from Pampilhosa to the Spanish border.

Trancoso is well known as the place where the 16th-century poet and shoemaker António Gonçalves de Bandarra lived and made his prophetic texts.

His parents were members of the extensive Marrano community in Trancoso that left behind 300 Hebrew inscriptions.