Vila Franca de Xira

Vila Franca de Xira is a city and municipality in Ribatejo, Portugal.

Understand




Vila Franca de Xira (VEE-luh FRUHN-kuh d(ih) SHEE-ruh, /ˈvi.ɫɐ ˈfɾɐ̃.kɐ dɨ ˈʃi.ɾɐ/) municipality has 136,886 residents (2011). It is the southernmost municipality to spread across both banks of the River Tagus. Most of the population lives west of the river. To the east is mostly farmland and nature reserves. There is evidence of settlement dating back to neolithic times. The city is known for its bull-running festivals.

Get in
The nation's main motorway, A1 (Autoestrada do Norte), crosses the municipality north to south, providing access from Lisbon, Coimbra, and Porto. Other motorways are A9 (Circular Regional Exterior de Lisboa, CREL) and A10 (Autoestrada do Ribatejo or Autoestrada Bucelas–Carregado–IC3).

Comboios de Portugal provides commuter train service to several stations in the municipality.