Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
born poet, playwright and healer José Régio (1901-69), who lived and worked here, ad-
mission includes a guided tour (in Portuguese) through each floor of the town house.
Highlights include the stunning upstairs office and library, and the rooftop garden.
Alfandega Resia
Museu da Construção Naval
(Museum of Shipbuilding; Largo da Alfândega; adult/child €1/0.50; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun)
Shipbuilding has
been in Vila do Conde's bones since at least the 13th century. This museum on the banks
of the Rio Ave, just west of Praça da República, has exhibits on trade and models of hand-
built
nau
(a sort of pot-bellied caravel once used for cargo and naval operations). The real
attraction, however, is the replica of a 16th-century
nau
moored opposite the museum.
Visitors can wander across the various decks of the ship, peeking in rooms that provide
a glimpse of ship life during the 1500s.
MUSEUM
MUSEUM
Museu das Rendas de Bilros
(Museum of Bobbin Lace; Rua São Bento 70; admission €1; 10am-noon & 2-6pm Mon-Fri)
It's no accident
that seafaring fingers, so deft at making nets, should also be good at lace making. Vila do
Conde is one of the few places in Portugal with an active school of the art, founded in
1918. Housed in a typical 18th-century town house in the town centre, the school includes
the Museu das Rendas de Bilros, which displays eye-popping examples of work from Por-
tugal and around the world.
Beaches
Vila do Conde's two best beaches,
Praia da Forno
and
Praia de Nossa Senhora da Guia
, are wide,
blonde and picturesque even when the winds howl. Most of the year seas are calm and
suitable for young children. Buses marked 'Vila do Conde' from Póvoa de Varzim stop at
the station and continue to the beach, about half-hourly all day from Monday to Friday
(fewer on weekends).
Surfers can sometimes ride swells near the 17th-century Castelo de São João Baptista,
at the river mouth. Once a castle, it's now a small deluxe hotel (
Click here
)
with a glamor-
ous, hard-partying reputation.
Festivals & Events
Festival Ollin Kan Portugal
MUSIC
