Exploring Portugal: Póvoa de Varzim

When I came to Portugal, I made it my goal to see as many places as possible. From February onwards I was working six days a week, which meant that I was restricted to places within easy reach of Porto.

By June, with my time in Portugal fast running out, there were very few easy-to-reach places that I hadn't been to. However, there was a beach I hadn't yet visited and that was Póvoa de Varzim. So one Sunday in the middle of the month, I caught the 10:34 train to Porto. From there I got the metro to Póvoa de Varzim, where I spent a pleasant few hours.

Though much bigger than I had imagined, Póvoa de Varzim was quite a nice town, with pretty streets and of course, the beach. I probably took the long way to the beach, walking almost to Vila do Conde before I realised I was walking in the wrong direction! Doh!


Halfway to... the wrong place!

Having found the beach I was somewhat disappointed to find that the sand was very gritty, and underfoot it hurt! So my beach adventure was fairly short-lived. It was pretty though, and surprisingly empty for a warm June weekend.


The view to the right

The view to the left



Watchful seagull



Walking along the shore where the sand was less gritty