Siza on the rocks: a day in Leça da Palmeira

Leça da Palmeira, in Matosinhos at the mouth of the River Leça, is a place of pilgrimage for architecture lovers. Read on for Siza's Boa Nova Tea House and Piscina das Marés, both National Monuments, the 46-metre Leça lighthouse and the star-shaped Fort of Nossa Senhora das Neves.

0 breweries · 1 venue

Leça da Palmeira is a parish of the municipality of Matosinhos on the Atlantic coast, at the mouth of the River Leça, with origins going back to Roman times. Its name probably comes from Lettia or Laetitia, a Roman villa on the riverbanks, while "da Palmeira" recalls the tradition that palm-bearing pilgrims returning from the Holy Land came ashore here. The place is first recorded in 1081 as Villa Fosse de Leza, and by 1122 as San Miguele Foce de Leza, after its church of São Miguel, which was probably rebuilt between 1568 and 1578.

For centuries the community lived from the sea, fishing and farming. After Portugal regained its independence in 1640, the Fort of Nossa Senhora das Neves was begun in 1651 as part of the coastal defences of Porto. Shaped like a four-pointed star, it later housed the Porto customs house and the offices of the Port of Leixões, which opened in 1884, and it is now the seat of the port's harbour master. The Leça lighthouse, 46 metres tall and the second tallest in the country, came into service on 15 December 1926 and is now part of Matosinhos' museum network.

Leça is also a place of pilgrimage for architecture lovers. The Boa Nova Tea House, set among the rocks of Boa Nova beach near the lighthouse and a small chapel, came from a design by Fernando Távora's office led by the young Álvaro Siza Vieira, and was completed in 1963. Siza also designed the Piscina das Marés, a set of seawater pools in the rocks of Leça beach that opened in 1966 and open to swimmers only in the summer season. Both have been National Monuments since 2011.

Spend a morning on the seafront walking between the tea house, the lighthouse and the tidal pools, and the afternoon by the fort and the marina facing the port. Metro do Porto line A ends at Senhor de Matosinhos, and STCP bus 507 serves the lighthouse.

Craft beer is still a rare find in Leça da Palmeira, so keep an eye out for something local while exploring the seafront, and look around nearby Matosinhos and Porto for more.

Bars in Leça da Palmeira

View all

Frequently asked questions

The Boa Nova Tea House, set among the rocks near the lighthouse, came from a design by Fernando Távora's office led by the young Álvaro Siza Vieira and was completed in 1963. Siza also designed the Piscina das Marés, seawater pools in the rocks that opened in 1966. Both have been National Monuments since 2011.

Yes, but the Piscina das Marés, a set of seawater pools in the rocks of Leça beach designed by Álvaro Siza Vieira, opens to swimmers only in the summer season. It opened in 1966 and has been a National Monument since 2011.

Metro do Porto line A ends at Senhor de Matosinhos, and STCP bus 507 serves the lighthouse. The Leça lighthouse, 46 metres tall and the second tallest in the country, came into service on 15 December 1926 and is part of the Matosinhos museum network.