Figueira da Foz

Figueira da Foz is a seaside resort on the Beira Litoral in Central Portugal, situated at the mouth of the Mondego River west of Coimbra. It boasts a long waterfront promenade, Europe's widest urban beach and one of Portugal's few casinos. It is also popular with surfing enthusiasts for its favorable conditions and often hosts surfing competitive events.



Understand


Figueira da Foz (fee-GAY-ruh duh FAWSH, /fi.ˈgɐj.ɾɐ dɐ ˈfɔʃ/) municipality has 62,125 residents (2011), with about 28,000 in the city proper.

The name of the city is most probably derived from disused Latin and proto-Portuguese terminology referring to its location on the mouth of the river Mondego, whose name itself refers to it entering the Atlantic ocean. The favourable location led to humans settling in the area early on, although the city appears in record only in the 10th century. It has seen tremendous development thanks to advances in seafaring and later industrial revolution, and it was not until late 19th century that is became a seaside resort and underwent yet another transformation since then.

Figueira da Foz is the second most populous municipality in the Coimbra district after Coimbra itself. While ostensibly a resort, its port is also of major significance to trade and several major industries are located within the municipality, including large paper, glass and cement factories.

Get in


Figueira da Foz has no international airport and neither has its metropole Coimbra. That said, Coimbra is halfway between large international airports of Porto and Lisbon, with frequent trains running between the two cities through Coimbra, where one can change to a train to Figueira da Foz.

Figueira da Foz is served by two motorways: A14 (Autoestrada do Baixo Mondego) from Coimbra and A17 (Autoestrada do Litoral Centro) from Aveiro and Marinha Grande. Travelling from Coimbra, Lisbon, or Porto directly by car is actually up to two times quicker than taking the trains, due to numerous stops along the way.

Get around
AVIC operates a small number of bus lines within the municipality. Otherwise, you need to rely on taxis and, within the city of Figueira itself, you will comfortably reach all your destinations on foot.



See




Eat
Seafood and bacalhau (cod).

Go next

 * An obvious destination along the way to Figueira da Foz, Coimbra is a beautiful historic city of much significance