With over seven hundred years of existence, the city was once known as the "royal court of Trás-os-Montes" due to the high number of manors bearing coats of arms and family crests, attesting the presence of noble figures that established in the city by influence of the Marquis of Vila Real, the most powerful aristocratic house in Portugal, during the 16th and 17th centuries, after the Dukes of Braganza and the Dukes of Aveiro.

[5] Vila Real was ranked seventh in the list of Portugal's most livable cities in the survey of living conditions published by the Portuguese newspaper Expresso in 2007.

In 1272, as a new incentive to repopulation, King Afonso III of Portugal wrote another unsuccessful foral to establish Vila Real de Panóias.

Vila Real's privileged location at the crossroad between the Porto-Bragança and Viseu-Chaves roads allowed for a sustained growth over the centuries.

[8] The city experienced a great development with the establishment of the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro in 1986, succeeding the Polytechnic Institute of Vila Real created in 1973, contributing to an increase and revitalization of the population.

Nowadays the city experiences a phase of growing industrial and commercial development, aimed at health, education and tourism, presenting itself as an attractive place for foreign investment, being internationally known by the Circuito Internacional de Vila Real, the street circuit used for the FIA WTCR Race of Portugal, one of the events of the World Touring Car Cup.

Pedro de Menezes was engaged in an outdoor game in the king's presence when a messenger arrived reporting an imminent Moroccan attack on Portuguese-held Ceuta.

Vila Real has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb/Csa) with warm to hot dry summers and cool wet winters.

Located in a promontory formed by the gorges of the Corgo and Cabril rivers, Vila Real sits at 460 m (1,510 ft) altitude.