Matosinhos beach

The beach is a long and wide sand band. Water entry is smooth, with a long offshore shoal, bottom is sandy, but the beach is not always suitable for swimming. Water is rather cold, and winds are frequent. The beach is popular but rather vast to give room to all the locals and and rare tourists.

The infrastructure is rather poor, water is not very clear but wave riders don't mind it. Matosinhos is an excellent place for surfing. Surfers have to use wetsuits not only because of cold water but also because of sewage disposals drained into ocean by the port. The medieval castle Castelu do Ceiju assuages the impression spoiled by the view of industrial facilities. The locals see the strong resemblance between the shape of this structure and a head of cheese, that gave a name to this citadel.

The main advantage of Matosinhos for common tourists is represented by its numerous restaurants with excellent cuisine where you can order fish and seafood dishes cooked according to local culinary traditions. In June, the large-scale fish food festival is held on the beach, so you can enjoy numerous delicacies.

When is it better to go

The beach season in Portugal lasts from the beginning of June until September, when the air temperature reaches +30°C and the water temperature - +19°C. It should be remembered that the Atlantic Ocean does not warm up well and cools quickly, lovers of a more comfortable temperature can swim in natural stone pools, which are quite numerous on the coast.