Interesting Points

Some of the interesting points in Portimão:

Santa Catarina Fort:

In a dominating position over a elevation on the east side of Praia da Rocha, next to Rio Arade, this fortification this fortification defended the population and the Rio Arade Bay, cooperating with the São João do Arade Fort, on the opposite bank of the river, in Ferragudo.




 
 
S. João do Arade Fort

O Forte de São João do Arade, também conhecido como Castelo de São João do Arade, ou simplesmente como Castelo do Arade, no Algarve, localiza-se na vila e freguesia de Ferragudo, concelho da Lagoa, distrito de Faro, em Portugal.
Em posição dominante sobre a povoação e a foz do rio, a sua elevação divide duas praias: a Praia da Angrinha e a Praia Grande. Cooperava com o Forte de Santa Catarina, que lhe era fronteiro em Portimão, na defesa do estuário do rio Arade

Belvedere in Portimão

In this Viewpoint in Praia da Rocha you can enjoy a beautiful landscape while listening to the sound of the sea and sea birds. 
 
 
 
 


 

Alemão Beach

In this beach you can find the vacation home of  Mr. Mário Soares, a politician with great history in Portugal

Restinga Beach

To Kitesurf lovers this is the ideal Beach to this modality.









Alvor Fishing Port

Here you can see the way of life and the boats of Alvor Fishermen








Ria de Alvor

Here you can cycle while in contact with Nature and see at the same time the boats in the Fish Harbor of Alvor

Former Fish Market

Building where the Fish Market used to be in Portimão

St. Francisco Monastery

The foundation of St. Francisco Monastery - also known as Nossa Senhora da Esperança - dates from the sixteenth century and is the result of the initiative of Simão Correia, a former Captain of Azamor.
Unfortunatelly, this building suffers from a total neglect in the last decades, period in which its degradation increased, putting at risk what is left of it's architectural structure.



Portimão Museum

In the old canning factory "Feu Hermanos" opened the Portimão Museum – 5000 m2 showing the historical, ethnographic and industrial patrimony of the city and region of Portimão.

The entrance to the Museum  is made by Arade River side, where the fish was unloaded, and was taken to the "descabeço" room - the “heart” of the former factory. Here was restaured the washing,transport and the brine tanks, and placed figures representing the canners. In the central basement is still a mighty machine that made the impression in steel plates. It is also shown underwater pieces - cannons and amphorae.
The community is highlighted, specially through objects of the most illustrious person born in Portimão: Manuel Teixeira Gomes, writer, that was President of the Republic from 1923 to 1925. Between several things in his quotidian, exposes the Roman Bust, sculpture made in bronze where he was photographed in 1920, in his office when he performed diplomatic duties in  London.
The Museum also has temporary exposition rooms, a documentation center (the most modern in the region), an auditorium and a restauration room .


Schedules:
15 September to 14 July: tuesday - 14h30 to 18h00; from wednesday to sunday – 10h00 to 18h00.
15 July to 14 September: tuesday – 19h30 to 23h00; from wednesday to sunday – 15h00 to 23h00.
Documentation Center/Historic Archives: monday to friday – 9h00 to 12h30 and 14h00 to 17h30.

Prices: 3 euros (permanent exposition)
Free to the end of May, and from June on, free on sundays, International day of Monuments and sites (18 April), Day of the City (11 December) and European Patrimony Journeys (mobile date).
Family discounts
Free entrance to minors of 16 years old , professors, studants, interpretative guides, journalists and senior passaport.

Portimão Naval Club

The Portimão Naval Club  is a non profit institution that has for goal the cultural, sport and recreative promotion of its associates, developing and stimulating the likeness of nautical, recreation and competition sports, planting and perfecting the moral and physical qualities

Municipal Merit Medal(Silver degree).
Sports Facilities: Zona Ribeirinha next to St. Francisco docks and Sta. Catarina Fort - Praia da Rocha.


Portimão Arena Pavilion

The Portimão Arena is the most recent, modern e inovative infrastruture of the Fair and Expositions Park of this algarvian city and its born of the necessity to allow the Algarve to have a polyvalent pavilion able to accept reunions, banquets and other corporate events, such as release of brands or products, fairs, congresses and even sports and musical events of big scale.




Ponta do Altar Lighthouse

The name Ponta do Altar has its origin in an ancient pre-historic altar placed in this area, that the erosion caused to fall ro the sea.

Place geographially positioned between the Torrado Beach and  the Caneiros Beach, has a lighthouse built in 1893, that actually is automatized and is  remotely controled from the Cabo de S. Vicente (Sagres) Lighthouse.


Nossa Senhora da Conceição Church - Ferragudo

Located in top of a hill, over the population, overlooking the river, visíble from Portimão, the Fort and the road that access the Village, has a huge atrium where you can enjoy wonderful views over the river and the mouth of Arad and the city of Portimão. Flowery alleys of traditional urban fabric.
Architectural structure of a typical country church. In the altars of the fourteenth century, a worthy array of images of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In the sacristy there is a double-sided (Our Lady, the Crucifixion) possibly from the fifteenth century and a sixteenth-century São Sebastião. Collection of "ex-votos" of sailors and fishermen, painted in a "naïf" style describing the miracles of the patron.
"Ex-votos" - painted, drawn or written, of various dimensions, existing in various churches in the country, that besides evoking his constant miracles are a strong testimony of the popular art of this country, and in this case of the fishermen and sailors that ordered them.
Small panels of figurative tiles inside and outside (eighteenth century).

Manuel Teixeira Gomes Square or Casa Inglesa
One of the most known areas of Portimão.

Portimão Municipal Theatre  and 1º de Dezembro Square

Neoclassical style palace also known as Sárrea Garfias Palace, with baroque reminiscences, built in the late eighteenth century. On December 11, 2008 was opened in space formerly occupied by the palace, the TEMPO (Portimão Municipal Theatre), a modern construction that respects in large part the facade of the old building.
1º de Dezembro Square- Garden with a fountain and tile panel benches representing the story of Portugal.



Portimão Main Church

Exemplar building of the portuguese late gothic, that searches influence in the model of Mosteiro da Batalha, by intermediary of the que busca influência no modelo do mosteiro da Batalha, by intermediary of the "canteiros" that worked by that time in the Silves Cathedral. Its construction was sponsored by the first grantee of Portimão, D.Gonçalo Vaz de Castelo Branco. It has 3 naves, 4 legs and head tripartite. The work went on during the century XVI, undergoing major operations after the earthquake of 1755

Colege Church and Diogo Gonçalves Museum

Sent to build by the gentleman Diogo Gonçalves in the corner of the current Commerce Street, in the XVII / XVIII centuries, the Jesuit College is a building with whose facade of rigid lines is decorated by three bodies, representing the highest at the entrance of the church, whose nave is one of the largest in its kind built in the Algarve.
All the altars are from the XVI century, gilded and richly decorated. From the Renaissance period we highlight the image from the Blessed Virgin and Child (sixteenth century). Other images worthy of careful consideration such as Our Lady of Mercy and the Lord of the Afflicted, decorate the interior. The crucifix of Jesus of Miracles, of the seventeenth century, is prominently displayed. In this building you can still find the Diogo Gonçalves Museum.

Municipal Market

In the Municipal Market you can find areas of fish, butchers, agricultural products, delis, flower shops, bakeries, a zone for producers and the sanitary facilities. In the market area is also a veterinary office, two areas of cold( one for the fish and other for the agricultural products), one zone for the comercialization of ice, an area of packaging for butchers, as weel as some reserved spaces.

Schedules: Monday to Friday Morning: 07:00-14:00  Afternoon: 17:00-20:00

                  Saturdays:  Morning: 07:00-14:00 

School Farm

Located in Aldeia Nova da Boavista, this new space of leisure and teacher training is mainly intended to approximate the youngest of the countryside, through contact with the animal kinds and plant species.

Occupying an area of 2 acres, divided into distinct zones of cultivation, animal shelter, one area of lake, green areas and leisure, the School Farm of Portimão recriates a rural farm.
It was designed not only different exterior spaces that allow a direct contact with the Nature, but also a support building with multipurpose rooms to  create workshops, among other activities. The building also offers the cafeteria service and counts with the support of a store.
In the farm is still possible to find a vegetable garden, a space with aromatic herbs, several trees such as Orange Tree, árvores diversas como a laranjeira, a pomegranates, or quince, and also cows, donkeys, sheep, pigs, birds, rabbits among other species of animals that are characteristic in a farm.
Between May and September the School Farm will be functioning from Tuesday to Friday between 9:00 and 19:30, and at Saturdays Sundays and Holidays between 10:00 and 19:30. From October to April, it will be open for public from Tuesday to Friday between  9:30 and 17:30 and Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays between 10:00 and 17:30. Aditional information can be obtained through the phone +351 282 480 730, or by e-mail quinta.pedagogica@cm-portimao.pt

Youth Park

A Park in the heart of the city where you can enjoy a beautiful garden where exists a lake with several exotic bird species around it. You also have a Maintenance Circuit, a bmx race a Dirt tracks, and also a modeling track.




City Hall

Here you can find the beautiful building of the City Hall in a excelent square to cycle.








Manuel Teixeira Gomes House

Where Manuel Teixeira Gomes was born, President of the Republic that signed, in 1924, the ordinance which increased Portimão to city.