VIANA DO CASTELO - NEIGHBORHOODS

Viana do Castelo City Center (Santa Maria Maior and Monserrate)

About 15,000 people (out of 38,000 in all of Viana do Castelo municipality) live in the historic center, which is made up of two neighborhoods: Monserrate, to the west and closest to the Atlantic Ocean side, and Santa Maria Maior, where many points of interest are located.

The historic center is separated from a naval shipyard by Avenida Campo do Castelo. Wedged between the shipyard and the avenue is Castelo de Santiago da Barra and the statue to the `mulher Vianesa`. The former Navy hospital ship Navio Gil Eannes is located in the harbor next to Rua Alves Cerqueira. As the Rua Alves Cerqueira reaches the Praca da Liberdade, where the aforementioned street and Alameda 5 de Outubro meets the Avenida dos Combatentes da Grande Guerra, you will see the Monument to Freedom, installed in 1999 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution. If you travel down the Alameda, you will see the Jardim da Marginal to your left and the city marina to your right, before reaching Avenida Dom Afonso III and the Ponte Eiffel, which connects Viana do Castelo with Darque.

Avenida dos Combatentes da Grande Guerra is the main north-south thoroughfare in the city center, connecting the waterside with Viana do Castelo train station and the shopping mall Estacao Viana Shopping. The Convento de Santa Ana is situated just to the right of the train station. The north-south road immediately to the east of Grande Guerra is called Passeiro das Mordomas da Romaria, and within two blocks it will take you to the Praca da Republica. Within a tenth of a mile radius, you will find the Museu do Traje, Antigos Pacos do Concelho, the Capela das Malheiras, and Viana do Castelo Cathedral. If you are looking for the Museu de Artes Decorativas, walk from the Museu do Traje five or six blocks past the Grande Guerra avenue on the Rua Manuel Espregueira and the building will be on your right.

Sobreiro (Santuario de Santa Luzia)

The area north of Avenida 25 de Abril and immediately surrounding the Santa Luzia hillside is the neighborhood called Sobreiro. East of the Santa Luzia roundabout on Avenida 25 de Abril is the entrance for the Elevador de Santa Luzia. The longest funicular in Portugal, the Elevador takes people up Santa Luzia hill to the Santuario de Santa Luzia. The modern Hospital de Santa Luzia sits at the foot of the hill, and people can see the campus and the helipad to their left as they travel up the funicular. Once you reach the top of the hill on the funicular, it will let you out next to the ruins of the former castro called the Citania de Santa Luzia. Walking down the road, you will first see a large hotel and spa, the Pousada de Viana do Castelo, and finally the sanctuary complex. There is a museum, the Museu de Santa Luzia, the actual sanctuary building, a park called the Monte de Santa Luzia, and a souvenir store which sits to the right when facing the sanctuary, called the Casa das Estampas. Two, three and four-story apartment buildings and vacation condominiums are located at the base of the hill, on both sides of the hospital.

Areosa

To the northwest of Viana do Castelo City and Sobreiro is the village of Areosa, which is essentially a suburb of Viana do Castelo and has a population of about 4,800. The next stop after Viana do Castelo train station is Areosa train station, located on Avenida Maria Auxiliadora. Long but not wide, Areosa is bounded to the west by the N13 motorway and to the east by Avenida de Areosa. A beachside town, there are farms and green fields separating the N13 from the coast, a conscious decision by the Viana do Castelo municipal council. Areosa is split up into three parts: from north to south, Alem do Rio, Lugar do Meio and Provoenca. The beach in Areosa is secluded and calm and is just down the road from the parish soccer pitch, which is situated right on the water.

Cabedelo and Darque

Darque is the parish directly to the south of Viana do Castelo City and the Lima River. About 8,000 people live south of the river in Darque. Two train stops before Viana do Castelo are located in Darque: Darque train station and Areia-Darque train station. Long associated with the culinary tradition, Darque is where many signature dishes associated with Viana do Castelo were first devised, such as cod (`bacalhau` in Portuguese). In fact, Darque is known colloquially as `the village of onions and cod` for that exact reason. Praia do Cabedelo is located in Darque parish on the Atlantic coast at the mouth of the Lima River; it is considered one of the top beaches in all of northern Portugal. The area near Cabedelo was once a village called Santa Maria das Areias, and for centuries was believed to be the site of a Roman settlement.