Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TRAIN
Train connections to/from Coimbra (€2.65, one hour, hourly) are superior to buses. There
are also direct trains to Leiria (€5, one hour, three daily), with connecting service to Mira
Sintra-Meleças station on the suburban Lisbon line. For Porto, change in Coimbra.
DON'T MISS
ALIANÇA UNDERGROUND MUSEUM
Between Aveiro and Coimbra, in the village of Sangalhos in the Bairrada wine-producing region, is this ex-
traordinary
location
( 234 732 045, 916 482 226;
www.alianca.pt
;
Rua do Comercio 444, Sangalhos; admis-
sion €3; daily 90min visits 10am, 11.30am, 2.30pm, 4pm) : part
adega
(winery), part repository of an eclect-
ic, enormous, and top-quality art and artefact collection. Vast vaulted chambers hold sparkling wine, barrels of
maturing
aguardente
(distilled spirits), and a series of galleries displaying a huge range of objects. The highlight
is at the beginning: a superb collection of African sculpture, ancient ceramics and masks, but you'll also be taken
by the spectacular mineral and fossil collection and the beauty of some of the spaces. Other pieces include
azule-
jos
, a rather hideous collection of ceramic and faience animals, and an upstairs gallery devoted to India. The only
complaints are that there's no information on individual pieces, and you don't have time to linger at leisure.
Phone to book your visit, which can be in English and includes a glass of sparkling wine.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Praia de Mira
For a few days of sunny, windblown torpor, head for Praia de Mira, the best-equipped
town along the 50km coastal strip between Figueira da Foz and Aveiro. Sandwiched
between a long, clean beach and a canal-fed lagoon, this small resort has little to distract
you from the main business at hand: sun, sea and seafood.
Praia de Mira is 7km west of Mira on the N109, itself 35km north of Figueira da Foz.
Activities
Secret Surf School
( 968 422 146;
www.secretsurfschool.com
; Duna Bar; 2hr class per person €20; daily Jul & Aug, weekends
Sep-Jun)
Located on the beach in the centre of town; these people can teach you how to get
out there riding waves.
SURFING
Sleeping
