Espinho is a city in the Metropolitan Area of Porto, in the Northern Region of Portugal and in the District of Aveiro. The headquarters of the municipality of Espinho has a total area of 21.06 km2, 31,043 inhabitants in 2021 and a population density of 1,474 inhabitants per km2, subdivided into 4 parishes. The municipality is limited to the north by the municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia, to the east by Santa Maria da Feira, to the south by Ovar and to the west by the Atlantic Ocean.
The Municipality of Espinho is divided into 4 parishes:
Anta e
Guetim;
Espinho;
We stopped;
Silvalde.
Espinho has seen better days in terms of its architectural heritage, although many modernist mansions, the residence of the great families who spent their holidays there at the beginning of the last century, have unfortunately been lost and have been replaced by apartment buildings. Walking through the streets of the centre, you can still see wonderful houses from that period, which are an example of the splendour of Espinho in those years. Currently, new buildings of modern architecture have been built and are in the planning stages, such as the new library, the multi-purpose building that houses a beautiful planetarium, and the new railway station.
Walk along the city's promenade next to the beach.
Swim (be
careful of the currents) and enjoy the sun on the beautiful white sand
beaches that Espinho offers.
Learn to surf, or rent a board if you
can, with one of the city's surf schools.
Walk along the walkway that
starts at the northern beach of Espinho and takes you across the dunes
with a beautiful view of the sea to several kilometres in Vila Nova de
Gaia. Another walkway built in 2013 takes you towards the southern area
of the municipality (civil parishes of Silvalde and Paramos).
Watch
a volleyball match. Espinho is the Portuguese capital of volleyball.
Three local clubs host matches regularly: Associação Académica de
Espinho, Clube de Voleibol de Espinho and Sporting Clube de Espinho.
Play or see a show at the Casino.
Play tennis at the Complexo de
Ténis de Espinho .
Rent a small plane (if you are a PPL holder) at
the Aero Clube da Costa Verde and fly over the region on a clear day or
take your first flying lesson with a competent instructor.
Visit the
Planetarium and stargaze from the Observatory at the Centro Multimeios
de Espinho .
Watch a concert at the Music Academy.
Play golf at
the Oporto Golf Club, in the suburb of Paramos, south of the city of
Espinho.
FEST ̶ New Directors Festival | New Cinema: A unique celebration of
new cinema and new filmmakers. It is an annual multifaceted film
festival, which takes place in the last week of June in the city of
Espinho. In 2018, FEST reached its 14th edition, which took place
between the 18th and 25th of June.
Weekly fair: The largest weekly
fair in the country (and possibly in the Iberian Peninsula), being held
every Monday, except for changes due to holidays. The fair occupies a
large stretch of Avenida 24, from the city center to the parish of
Silvalde, and you can find a wide variety of products there. Very
characteristic of the Espinho fair are the sale of vegetables and fruits
from small farmers in the area, the sale of fish by vareiras and the
gypsy trade, in addition to the traditional auctions.
CINANIMA: The
International Animation Film Festival takes place every year in Espinho,
usually in November. CINANIMA is an important animation film festival
worldwide. It is organized by the Nascente Cultural Action Cooperative
and the Espinho City Council.
Espinho Music Festival: Created in
1974, this classical music festival is organized annually by the Espinho
Music Academy, with the support of the City Council.
Espinho
Auditorium: Concert hall, theater, dance and new circus that is part of
the Academia de Espinho, with a monthly program that focuses on variety,
innovation and quality. The AdE intends to ensure regular cultural
production annually, based on its own productions, co-productions and
receptions in the musical, theatrical, dance and new circus fields.
Centro Multimeios de Espinho: Numerous diverse initiatives and cultural
events take place at the Centro Multimeios de Espinho, including
CINANIMA. People interested in astronomy will be able to attend sessions
in the planetarium, visit the cosmoteca (astronomy library) and
participate in regularly occurring astronomical observations.
Stages
of the world Surfing and Sand Volleyball circuits, which take place in
the summer.
Popular festivals: São João, São Pedro, São Martinho,
Nossa Senhora do Mar, Nossa Senhora das Dores and Nossa Senhora da
Ajuda.
Meeting of Statue Men: Annually, one of the largest events of
its kind in Europe takes place in the city park.
"Furry" fair: Takes
place on the first Sunday of each month. Mainly various antiques are
sold.
By train
Espinho is served by the Lisbon-Porto "Linha do Norte"
railway line, making it easy to reach from Portugal's two largest
cities. Porto, Vila Nova de Gaia, Ovar, Aveiro and Coimbra are all
within one to two hours of travel time. Less frequent trains are
available to Santa Maria da Feira from Espinho-Vouga railway station,
which is approximately 500m south of Espinho's main railway station.
There are a few daily Alfa Pendular fast trains to Lisbon and all
Intercidades trains stop at Espinho.
By road
The A29 and A1
roads provide access to Espinho, road signage is easy to follow. The
N109 regional road connects Espinho to the nearby cities of Porto and
Aveiro, but be prepared to move at a slower pace.
By plane
Espinho has a civil aerodrome that caters to private pilots and small
aircraft. The Aeroclube da Costa Verde clubhouse and the club members'
aircraft are located at this facility. The "aeroclube" offers a variety
of air-related activities and pastimes.
The most interesting areas of the city are within walking distance near the central train station.
The most commercial street in the city is street number 19, where
most of the fashion, accessories and footwear shops are concentrated,
many of them from large internationally renowned brands, which have set
up shop there attracted by the casino's clientele.
Every Sunday an
antiques market is held next to the multipurpose building, where you can
see and buy, but not before haggling a bit, everything from old everyday
objects to coins, banknotes, stamps and crafts.
On Mondays Espinho
hosts one of the largest Portuguese markets in the region and in the
whole country, located right next to the multipurpose building and where
you can buy almost anything you can imagine.
As a coastal town with deep fishing roots, Espinho has a wide variety
of seafood restaurants on the beach.
Concha do Mar restaurant
around the large market, excellent seafood dishes, and fresh fish, its
specialty is seafood rice, at medium prices.
In the surroundings of the casino and along the seafront there are terraces and restaurants, at night a good option to start is to go to one of the numerous beach bars, and then go to a nightclub, one of the nicest is the Praia Pop beach bar where they serve excellent caipirinhas for only 3 euros.
Solverde Aparthotel. Three stars, located next to the casino and
opposite the beach.
Praiagolfe Hotel. Four stars next to the casino
and the beach.
Municipal campsite. ☎ + 351 227343718. 15 minutes walk
from the beach and the city centre.
Already in times of Roman rule in the region there was a castro, the
so-called Castro de Ovil, a town referenced for the first time in a
document from 1013. This was based on a small circular hill, surrounded
by a moat to the north and east and by a river to the east. South and
West, and is currently in the Parish of Paramos.
Around 200 years
ago, the Espinho area began to be used for fishing, still on a seasonal
basis. These first occupants did not build houses, remaining on the
coast only during the journey, to return to their homeland in winter,
when the violence of the sea made safe fishing impossible.
The
settlement of the population began around the year 1776 (the
municipality was only created in 1899, by dismemberment of Santa Maria
da Feira), when the first houses (the palheiros) appeared, made of wood
and with covered roofs. with earth. The transition from wood to stone
occurred slowly and gradually, and went through an intermediate phase,
in which the haystacks, still made of wood, boasted a main facade of
stone and lime.
Later, many of these homes would be acquired and
transformed by wealthy families, giving rise to the beach colony of
Espinho. In less than half a century, Espinho would become one of the
areas of choice in the North of Portugal.
The religious devotion
of the people of the region led to the construction, over the centuries,
of several monuments spread throughout the city and surrounding areas.
The Main Church dedicated to Our Lady of Ajuda is an example of this;
built in 1930 according to a project by architect Adães Bermudes, it has
a revivalist flavor that seeks to reconcile with contemporary needs.
Today, Espinho is a modern city, with important tourist activity,
welcoming thousands of national and foreign visitors throughout the
year. For this, the climate factor (low temperature range: 23 °C in
summer and 12 °C in winter) and natural and cultural attractions (beach,
landscape, heritage, shows, etc.) were important, but also easy
accessibility (e.g. railway and road), the proximity of Porto and
Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport and the fact that it has become a popular
gaming area.
Espinho is a city known for its centuries-old fair,
gastronomy, potential in the areas of tourism and leisure, and its
Casino.
Most of the municipality of Espinho is covered by private transport
companies, such as UTC and Auto Viação Feirense.
Several highways
guarantee access to the city: A1, A29 and A41.
CP has the Espinho
Railway Station, an interface of the Northern Line and is the beginning
of the Vouga Line.
The city of Espinho has several schools, kindergartens, primary,
basic and secondary education. The Espinho School Park is divided into
two groups: the Dr. Manuel Laranjeira and the group of Schools Dr.
Manoel Gomes Almeida. In relation to Higher Education, there was, until
the end of 2016, a Higher Institute. There are still several
professional schools and music schools.
In the city of Espinho,
several School Centers are under construction:
Silvalde School Center
Anta and Esmojães School Center
Paramos School Center
Espinho's library network is made up of a Municipal Library - José Marmelo e Silva - and 6 School Libraries.
The Espinho Art and Culture Forum emerged from the rehabilitation
project of the former Fábrica de Conservas Brandão, Gomes & C.ª. It is a
space dedicated to research, cultural development and the provision of
services to the community, at a confluence between knowledge, training,
education and leisure.
The Municipal Museum of Espinho occupies
the central nucleus of the old factory. "It constitutes a dynamic space,
of interaction between the past and the present [...]. The museographic
design integrates three permanent exhibitions: canning factory, xávega
art and fishing/worker neighborhood. The functionality of the municipal
museum is, also, for a temporary exhibition gallery, for the local
history documentation and research center and for an educational service
open to schools and the rest of the population".
The Centro Multimeios de Espinho is a multipurpose space, open to holding meetings, congresses and exhibitions. It includes an auditorium with around 300 seats, fully equipped with the most modern sound and image technology, allowing events to be held in the areas of Cinema, Music, Theater and Dance. It also has a modern Planetarium. The Centro Gallery is a large space, measuring 400 m², available to house exhibition proposals from the artistic community.
The Espinho Multipurpose Center is aimed at boosting sports and recreation, with the objectives of promoting and developing the municipality. With a covered area of 11,000 m², this space was designed for large sporting and cultural events, being highly versatile and flexible.
Integrated into the Espinho Music Academy, the Auditorium ensures regular cultural production, which is based on its own productions, co-productions and receptions in different cultural fields (musical, theatrical, dance, new circus). Due to his contribution, he became a cultural reference at the city and region level. Its resident structure is the Espinho Classical Orchestra and the Drumming-Percussion Group.
The Espinho Atlantic Solar Swimming Pool and the Espinho Marine Spa
are two interconnected units belonging to the Municipality of Espinho
and are located on the seafront.
The Swimming Pool was originally
built in 1942, on the private initiative of businessman Manoel Pinto
Bizarro, according to a modernist design by Eduardo Martins and Manuel
Passos (due to its high architectural quality, the project is referenced
in the Architecture Survey of the 20th century in Portugal). In 1960,
the swimming pool became part of the Espinho City Council's equipment.
The complex was then expanded to include the so-called Marine Spa, which
included a heated indoor pool and a treatment area with sea water and
algae (thalassotherapy).
In the 1990s, the facilities underwent
renovation with a project by architects Isabel Aires and José Cid, who
sought to maintain the integrity of the most relevant aspects of the
1940s configuration - external facades, initial entrance, bar and party
room, which were carefully rehabilitated. The outdoor pool was
completely rebuilt (only the original diving board remains), and a new
profile was adopted, with a shallower and safer depth. The pool today is
made up of two water levels, one for children and the other for adults.
The Marine Spa was completely renovated and modernized, particularly the
indoor pool.
The Espinho Tennis Complex has played a prominent role in the
development of tennis in Portugal, namely in the organization of
national and international events, having one of the best
infrastructures for practicing the sport.
Inserted in a welcoming
space, where nature makes its presence felt, it is equipped with 16
courts (12 outdoor and 3 indoor courts), 8 of which are dirt (5 outdoor
and 3 indoor), 4 synthetic grass and 3 synthetic flooring. The
clay-court central court has a capacity for around 2,000 spectators.
Casino de Espinho began operating in 1974, being the first unit of the Solverde Group.