Best Beaches In North Portugal
In the southwestern part of Europe, specifically on the Iberian Peninsula, lies the country of Portugal. It is officially known as Portuguese Republic and is Europe's westernmost country. Portugal shares its borders with Spain, on the north and eastern side; and has the Atlantic Ocean to its west.
The Portugal mainland is split by Tagus, the main river of the country. The northern region or the Norte encompasses the districts of Vila Real, Viana do Castelo, Braganca and Porto (or Oporto). The southern region, on the other hand, comprises mainly of Faro, Beja and Castelo Branco districts among others.
Portugal is a major tourist destination and can attribute 5% of its GDP to tourism. Among its many attractions lie the wonderful beaches of the country all thanks to the river Tagus.
Lisbon, a region of central Portugal, boasts of a couple of beautiful, long stretches of golden, sandy coastline. One of these is the Costa do Estoril, which lies to the north of the River Tagus; and the other is Costa Azul (also known as Blue Coast), which lies towards the south.
The Estoril Coast prides itself in its wide variety of beaches, or praias, that have won the European Union's prestigious Blue Flag award for their infrastructure, back-up services and, primarily, for the quality of their sea water.
20 kilometers west of Lisbon is the town Cascais. Most of the popular beaches of the northern Portugal lie between this Cascais and the casino town of Estoril. One of these is the beautiful Tamariz beach. It is a nicely sheltered beach and is great for bathing. Moving further, towards Cascais, one can find its idyllic urban beaches, one of which is named the Fisherman's Beach.
The Torre beach, located between Picina Oceanica and S.Juliao da Barra fort, is another pretty beach. It's the first beach encountered when moving west from Lisbon towards Cascais. Apart from great bathing, it also offers superb local facilities like restaurants and bars.
Next in line, among its best beaches, is the Carcavelos beach. It is a really sandy beach, and is thus a major attraction for visitors. It is usually flooded with surfers as well as body boarders. Here, one is offered an excellent choice of bars and restaurants. Moreover, this place allows easy access into central Lisbon.
There is another small beach bay, Parede, on the south coast of Estoril. The waters here have been known to have therapeutic qualities and are rich in iodine.
There are a couple of more coastlines, in the northern Portugal, that are quite popular. One of these is the Silver coast, or the Costa de Prata. It extends from Lisbon up till Porto and offers long sandy beaches. The second one is the Green Coast, or the Costa Verde, which includes the Minho and the Douro Litoral regions. Both of these have a number of great holiday resorts and are great for surfers and sun-lovers.
If you are planning a trip to North Portugal, it would be a shame to miss any of these amazing beaches.