Matosinhos assumes itself as the city of cruise tourism, the best fish in the world, contemporary architecture, design, jazz, science and research, dance, theater, surfing and sailing and now also fashion. Fashionable and trendy…
This article was written by Leça da Palmeira.
Estimated reading time: 13 minutes
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Matosinhos is an urban municipality with an area of 62,42 km² and 175 inhabitants (478), heavily dedicated to the tertiary sector. On the coast of the city is the port of Leixões, the largest artificial port in Portugal. Part of Porto's international airport encompasses the municipal boundaries.
It is in the city of Matosinhos, more specifically in Leça da Palmeira, that Exponor, the largest business fairs in the country, is located. It also has the most important port of Greater Porto: the Porto de Leixoes, the largest artificial port in Portugal, built in the late XNUMXth century.
The main festival in Matosinhos is the Lord of Matosinhos, one of the main and largest pilgrimages in Portugal.
Land of fresh fish and seafood, Matosinhos is also a magnet for all those who enjoy good cuisine, much appreciated and praised nationally and internationally. For many it is the North's “dining room”.
Matosinhos is still a municipality with a vast cultural and architectural heritage, highlighting the following points of interest on the coast of the municipality that deserve to be visited at any time of the year:
Route through the historical and artistic heritage:
from Matosinhos to Leça and Angeiras
Anemone “She Changes”
Since late 2004, it has been illustrating one of the main entrances to Matosinhos – Cidade S. Salvador square, on the border with the city of Porto. Designed by the American sculptor Janet Echelman, it is made up of three large metal poles, one of them about 60 meters high, and a red and white net (suspended in a 42-meter-diameter ring), which moves according to the of the wind. The piece was intended to highlight the importance of fishing activity in the county. However, over time, it became the hallmark of the city, being the most photographed monument in Matosinhos.
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Sculpture “Tragedy at sea”
Walking along the Marginal de Matosinhos, designed by the architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, we can see the sculpture “Tragédia no mar” (2005). Authored by José João de Brito, the work evokes the shipwreck, on December 2, 1947, due to a storm, involving four trawlers, which killed 152 fishermen. The sculptural ensemble, inspired by a canvas by Augusto Gomes, a painter from Matosinhos, portrays pain, affliction and the cries of despair in the face of the tragedy that unfolds at sea.
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Titan
Back on the waterfront, we are faced with the recently recovered Titan, an iron crane, used in the construction of the port of Leixões, in the 69th century. With 17 meters long and XNUMX meters high, powered by steam, it is a mark of Portuguese and world industrial heritage.
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Cruise Terminal
In the background, in the port of Leixões, the Cruise Terminal (2015). Designed by the architect Luís Pedro Silva, this work not only houses the pier for cruise ships, the passenger station, the pier for tourist boats bound for the Douro River, a nautical recreational port, the Science and Technology Park of the Sea from the University of Porto and CIIMAR – Interdisciplinary Center for Marine Research at the University of Porto.
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Senhor do Padrão monument
Leaving the port of Leixões, we head towards the Senhor do Padrão Monument, a dome dating from the XNUMXth century that marks the place where, according to legend, the image of Bom Jesus de Bouças appeared, later known as Lord of Matosinhos. We continue along Rua Heróis de França, always next to the port of Leixões, where there are numerous fish restaurants. We arrived at Eng Avenue. Duarte Pacheco and the Matosinhos Municipal Market which, in 2022, marks its 70th anniversary.
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Fort Our Lady of the Snows
we cross the Mobile Bridge de Leixões, the fourth largest bascule bridge in the world, which takes us to Leça da Palmeira. Continuing along Antunes Guimarães avenue towards the beach, stands the Forte Nossa Senhora das Neves, built in the XNUMXth century due to the need to defend the coast from the attacks of corsairs. Today, it houses the captaincy of the port of Leixões.
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Tide Pools
We go through the Leça da Palmeira waterfront, designed by the architect Álvaro Siza. We visited the Tide Pool. A masterpiece by Álvaro Siza, it was inaugurated in 1966. It is considered an example of the dynamic harmonization of the built space with the forms created by nature, providing a good alternative to the open sea.
In 2006 it was classified as a National Monument.
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Sculpture “Sea Line”
Further on, we come across the sculpture “Linha de Mar”. It is a sculptural piece by Pedro Cabrita Reis. Composed of iron beams, it presents a perspective on the horizon line of the sea and suggests different interpretations through the shape and geometry and its overlap with the ocean.
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Boa Nova Lighthouse
Next to it is the Boa Nova Lighthouse (1926), 46 meters high and 3,5 meters in diameter. It is the second tallest lighthouse in the country. Nearby, the sculpture “Antonio Nobre and the Muses” (1970), by the sculptor Salvador Barata Feyo.
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Boa Nova Tea House
Opposite, we find the Casa de Chá da Boa Nova (1963), designed by the architect Álvaro Siza. Born among the rocks, this tea house/restaurant overlooking the sea, with large glazed windows, is seen as a paradigm for the insertion and integration of architecture on the site. The restaurant has been managed since 2014 by Chef Rui Paula, having already won two Michelin stars.
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Chapel of the Good News
Next to it is the Capela da Boa Nova, invoking St. John, dating from the 1475th century. It was for many years linked to the Franciscan hermits, who settled in this place until XNUMX, where there was a small monastery.
On a rock, since the 40s of the last century, a Evocative marble plaque by António Nobre with the first four lines of the sonnet “Lá na Praia da Boa Nova” (1887), which recalls the childhood and youth spent in Leça da Palmeira, where his family used to spend the summer.
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Obelisk of Memory
Returning to the surface, we can see the Obelisco da Memória, built between the parishes of Perafita and Lavra (1840-1864). The monument marks the landing, on July 8, 1832, of an army of 7500 men commanded by D. Pedro IV with the aim of ending the absolutist regime in force in Portugal and establishing a modern and liberal regime.
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Roman tanks
We continue our walk through Lavra. Between the back of the Parish Church and the beach, there are archaeological remains of an ancient Roman villa (mosaics, ceramics, among others). On the Angeiras beach, we find the Roman Tanks (32th – 600th century), unique in the northern region. There are six sets of tanks, with a total of XNUMX specimens, rectangular and trapezoidal in shape, excavated in the rocky outcrop and dispersed over about XNUMX meters along the sand. They were used for salting fish or for the production of other types of preserved fish that were very popular in Roman times, such as garum (a paste resulting from the maceration of different species of fish and molluscs with wine, olive oil and other products).
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Angeiras Campsite
Also in this area, the Angeiras Camping Park has been operating since 1962. Built by order of the then Mayor of Matosinhos, Fernando Pinto de Oliveira, this equipment occupies an area of almost 90 thousand square meters and is currently managed by ORBITUR. In addition to space to accommodate tents and caravans, it has fully equipped accommodation, a small supermarket, restaurant and bar, terrace, swimming pool and plenty of trees.
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Other places to visit in Matosinhos
Church of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos
The temple already existed in the XNUMXth century.
It was completely renovated in the 1743th century, being endowed with the most elegant and exemplary baroque language with the design of the Italian architect Nicolau Nasoni. The works began in XNUMX, using the offers promised by the emigrants who made their fortune in Brazil and the “ex-votos” of the seafarers in the afflictions of their toil.
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Monastery of Leça do Balio
Classified as a national monument, this property of medieval origin is considered one of the best architectural examples in our country, transitioning from the Romanesque to the Gothic style. With origins before the century. X, was later (XNUMXth century) the first mother house of the Hospitaller Knights of the Order of Malta in Portugal. Of the Romanesque construction, only an incomplete wing of the cloister remains, at the back of the church, a portal and a window with vegetal decoration. It was rebuilt in the century. XIV, following the model of the fortress churches. The main façade, in Gothic style, with a large radiating rose window and topped by a cross of the Order of Malta, has a Romanesque keep, crowned with battlements.
Here was celebrated the marriage of King Fernando (1367-1383) with D. Leonor Teles.
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Car Bridge
An integral element of the natural landscape, it crosses the Leça River, connecting the parishes of Guifões to Sta. Bishop's Cross. It is a beautiful Romanesque monument, a crossing point for pilgrims heading to Santiago de Compostela, with a slightly broken arch and cobblestone pavement.
In the area surrounding the bridge, the Ponte do Carro Park was built, with paths along the river accompanied by grassy areas and equipped with tables and benches and children's amusement equipment.
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House of Architecture
Casa da Arquitectura – Centro Português de Arquitectura, created in 2007, in Matosinhos, is a non-profit cultural association dedicated to the dissemination and affirmation of architecture at a national and international level.
Casa da Arquitectura (CA) intends to meet the need for an institution in Portugal that welcomes, treats and makes accessible to all the different documentary collections of different architects, simultaneously promoting disciplinary reflections and bringing architecture to knowledge and understanding. of the general public.
The activity of Casa da Arquitectura has received, year after year, recognition of Cultural Interest from the Portuguese State.
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Water sports bodyboarding, sailing, windsurfing and surfing
The municipality of Matosinhos offers about 15 km of beaches that cut along the coast in uneven patterns. Some are small and secluded, ideal for a more relaxed day, others with large sands, inviting for long walks by the sea. These differentiating characteristics make them sought after 365 days a year for water sports, such as bodyboarding, sailing, windsurfing, and especially for surfing.
Matosinhos Interactive Tourism Store
The space has a tourist service area, an exhibition area for products from the Municipality and the entire region, two interactive tables with information, two video walls where films of various themes such as heritage or restoration are projected. One of the videowalls will project images to the outside of the Matosinhos Interactive Store.
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