The village of Cabreira is situated on the north bank of the river Ceira and takes advantage of the gently sloping terrain. Below the village stretching down to the river are beautifully cultivated strips of land, and below this a summer swimming place, with shade underneath the high road bridge. Cabreira has two café-bars, one alongside the narrow cobbled street that runs through the town, and one at the side of the main road, on top of a high xisto wall, giving views over Cabreira.

Although the village has undoubtedly been around for many centuries, it mushroomed during the early to middle part of the 20th century, having one of the biggest tungsten mines in the area. The tungsten mining provided work up until 1953, when the mine closed due to a drop in the demand for tungsten. There were also private mines operated by individuals, and tin mines higher on the hill. During the mining work, water courses that fed the springs behind the village were cut, and many of the old springs are still dry. Many of the local people can still remember the mining, and the changes after the mining finished. 60 years ago there were 40 children at the local school but today the school is closed.

A short way up the valley lies the olive press at the Ponte do Lagar, the medieval bridge over the Ceira. The olive press and the corn mill are still in working order and are used annually. On the hill above the bridge is a narrow white building used as a bunkhouse for the workers who extracted gold and tungsten from the bed of the Ceira, diving up to 4m to recover rock and grit, that was then panned to extract the minerals. At the time this work took place the olive press was used as a company office. It is now a popular swimming spot in the summer, with barbecue facilities and picturesque xisto olive stores, some of which have been converted into changing rooms.