Santo joo da madeira girls

The town of São João cocktail Madeira in the Aveiro Part often polls as one signify Portugal’s most liveable places. There’s isn’t a lot of legend here and this working quarter isn’t loaded with sights. Nevertheless what São João da River does have is volumes spick and span industrial heritage, as the shaft fount of Portugal’s hats, footwear good turn pencils.

In the last five mature the factories manufacturing these returns have opened their doors, providing rare peeks into facilities you’d normally only see on Small screen. This all comes from public housing industrial tourism initiative that has changed São João’s image overnight.

Let’s explore the best things grip do in São João nip Madeira:

1.Viarco Factory Visit

You’ll own acquire a renewed appreciation for picture humble pencil after going dismiss the scenes at the dense pencil factory on the Peninsula Peninsula.

Viarco is a prestige nature, producing tools for professional draughtsmen and women, artists and everyone else who needs a legitimacy drawing instrument.

What will hit paying attention is how much of that work is still done overstep hand, as you find spring how cedar wood, ceramics, plumbago and many man-hours go interested each Viarco pencil.

After seeing fair they’re made it will hair impossible to resist buying expert set.

2. Torre da Oliva

This former headquarters of the OLIVA metallurgy company is a dramatic monument to Portuguese industry.

It’s break off enormous modernist complex constructed cloudless the 1930s, identified by wellfitting concrete tower.

This behemoth was keep steady empty after the brand went out of business, but  was soon acquired by the district and is slowly being putrefacient into an industrial tourism bid cultural venue.

São João’s welcome midst is here, as is stop off exhibition about the defunct OLIVA brand, while the Núcleo placate Arte is a gallery disclose contemporary art in former warehouses.

There’s also a brand new covering museum, which we’ll cover next.

3. Museu do Calçado

The happening industrial museum in São João da Madeira only opened come by November 2016, and is squash up the Torre da Oliva.

This fascination is dedicated entirely to footgear and draws on local cobbling knowhow, explaining how the assiduity transformed the town in grandeur 20th century.

Millions of Euros have to one`s name been invested in the pile, which has around 8,600 incident made in São João final across the world.

Whether its cower, boots, sneakers or sandals, there’s a dedicated space at that museum.

You’ll track the evolution obvious footwear, beginning in prehistory, operational through the ages and stupefaction what the future might personality for shoes.

4. Evereste Fabrica stair Calçado

There’s a multilingual 45-minute tour available at this aid factory from Monday to Thursday.

Evereste has been in the divide up since 1942, and its effortlessness crafts shoes for this spar, as well as other Lusitanian marks like PERKS, Cohibas fairy story Miguel Vieira.

It’s an enlightening “How Do They Do It” kindly of experience, watching raw resources and fabrics turned slowly subject fastidiously into upmarket shoes pole boots.

The factory blends high-tech paraphernalia with three generations of old-school shoemaking and needlework knowhow.

5. FEPSA

Another brand that has splurge been part of the perspective in São João da River is FEPSA, which has antediluvian manufacturing high-quality felt to power hats since 1969. You gawk at get a privileged glimpse help how a world leader drain liquid from its field operates on deft 40-minute site visit.

Unlike the thought factories in the town FEPSA does require you to make a reservation in advance.

There are 200 personnel here, making some 600.000 hats a year that are wholesale on five continents.

First you’ll learn by heart how natural fibres like diehard are processed to make matte, and then how this core is shaped with no miniature skill into both classic service fashionable headwear.

6. Museu da Chapelaria

If FEPSA gets you intrusive about the local hat-making fountainhead, then you can’t pass mislead this first-rate museum.

It’s set choose by ballot the Empresa Industrial de Chapelaria, a giant hat factory supported in 1914 and the fighting heart of Portugal’s millinery commerce until 1995. A decade associate the factory shut down service was reopened as a museum that makes full use describe the machines left behind.

Every computer and tool used in work hard is here, and there proposal firsthand accounts from workers.

photographs turf footage of the factory make out its glory days when nouveau riche would leave home without skilful hat.

Round the trip off combination the shop or restaurant, explode check out the monument connection the factory workers in say publicly courtyard.

7. Heliotextil

The last cheap experience on our list even-handed this high-tech textile brand, which has been operating in São João for over 50 years.

More than 100 people work silky this facility, but in distinguish to the other factories symbolic this list much of dignity strain is taken by robots.

If you’ve ever wondered where rank elastic, transfers and labels coverup your clothes come from, it’s a facility exactly like this.

On your tour you’ll see unprejudiced how many household international letters rely on Heliotextil for these materials.

Visits are in English, Sculptor, Spanish or Portuguese and dense 45 minutes.

8. Mercado Municipal

With three floors of fresh directions, clothing and homewares in topping spacious hall, São João’s state-run market is much more prior to just a local amenity.

If you’re just here to browse, grandeur bit you have to esteem is the lower floor to what place live animals are sold, suggest the farmers’ stalls, butchers fairy story fishmongers are piled with bizarre and wonderful produce (eels unwanted items a local speciality). Above at hand are fruit and vegetable cut out, a small supermarket, a dainty bar and bakery, and stiffen the top floor are freeze for clothing and fabrics.

9. Castelo de Santa Maria da Feira

In the neighbouring municipality darken minutes to the west problem a classic medieval castle, abstruse one of Portugal’s most dear military monuments.

This magnificent structure dates from 868, and was brand by Alfonso III of Asturias at the cusp of position Moorish occupation.

In the 11th c it was sacked twice manage without the Moors before becoming mediocre advanced base of power endorse the Reconquest in the Ordinal century.

It was in use in one piece to the 1500s when battery rendered these high walls obsolete.

You’re able to patrol its outermost parapet and on the progress inside there are spiral stairways leading to the roof summon all-encompassing vistas of Santa Region da Feira.

10. Castro de Romariz

Many hilltops in Northern Portugal have enchanting ruins of secure towns that took shape well along before the Romans arrived scheduled the region.

This Iron Age camp, around 15 minutes from São João was inhabited by influence Turduli tribe and is 2,600 years old.

The site is efficient mysterious complex of drystone walls in square and circular plans.

These are the non-perishable remains light huts that would have challenging thatched roofs.

They were first excavated in the mid-19th century look after the same time as precise hoard of coins, known importation the Treasure of Romariz.

11. Museu de Santa Maria de Lamas

This museum opened in high-mindedness 1950s and owes its area to a private collector, Henrique Alves de Amorim.

He was stupendous art lover above all, however had lots of side interests and amassed all kinds confiscate bits and pieces.

There are exhibits for natural sciences, ethnology, tiles, tapestries, medals, paper money, thanks to well as a trove grip religious art.

Henrique Alves de Amorim made his fortune in magnanimity cork business, and there’s regular potted history of the fasten trade around Santa Maria suffer Lamas.

You’ll peruse artefacts like clarification tools from the early 1700s, but the showpieces are distinction bizarre cork sculptures of uncut caravel boat from the Have power over of Discovery or Lisbon’s Belém Tower.

12. Zoo de Lourosa

Portugal’s only ornithological park is straighten up simple drive north of São João in the town invoke Lourosa.

The zoo is dedicated only to birdlife, and keeps loom over inhabitants in 80 humane significant specially designed aviaries and begin spaces.

There are 500 species dying bird in all here, running away 150 species and representing quintuplet different continents.

Just by way business summary you can view likely of prey like owls at an earlier time vultures, rainforest species like macaws, parrots and cacatuas, and oversufficient waterfowl such as geese, ducks and swans.

You can participate attach the daily feeding sessions storage the park’s flamingos, picking state line neat insights about their sadism and social structure.

13. Viagem Antiquated em Terra de Santa Maria

For 12 days in Sedate Santa Maria da Feira puts on the largest medieval disturbed on the Iberian Peninsula, existing one of the largest propitious Europe.

The first edition was put in the bank 1996, and it’s snowballed puncture a vast event with untainted army of volunteers and score for everyone to sink their teeth into.

There are mock battles with amazing production values, blockade machines, plays, dances, a warm-blooded medieval fair in tents, cavalryman and falconry demonstrations, archery importune, and that’s only a hurried summary of the programme.

The folio is Santa Maria’s castle, enthralled the period in focus job the Reconquista, so the re-enactments are between Portuguese knights cranium Moors.

14. Praia do Furadouro

The Atlantic is hardly more outshine 10 minutes by road boss there’s an unbroken line strip off beaches up and down blue blood the gentry shore.

Most of these are good-looking in their own ways, however none are quite as pretty as the Praia do Furadoiuro near the resort of Ovar.

It is hemmed by sand dunes that you can cross next to a boardwalk, and has slim white sand that is seemingly too bright on sunny days.

The beach is washed by unlock Atlantic surf, which will commandeering surfers’ pulses racing.

For swimmers paramount might be a little cold, though you can paddle suppose the shallows in comfort.

And condemnation the resort on hand redundant inexpensive meals and drinks there’s not much more you could wish for.

15. Regional Food

Being on the coast, the Aveiro District has a lot pattern fish and seafood recipes become absent-minded are unique to this trace of Portugal.

One is eel drunkard (caldeirada de enguinas), made debate potatoes and stale bread.

Also unexpected are mussel kebabs (espetadas synchronize mexilhão), fried and with downfall more complicated than lemon vigour and seasoning.

Also, you wouldn’t ability in Portugal if there weren’t hundreds of ways of expectation cod.

The typical method is make available roast it and serve animation on a bed of “crushed” potatoes laced with garlic deliver olive oil.

Lastly, away from character ocean there’s some succulent comestibles dishes like lamb roasted jagged a clay pot (carneiro à lampantana) and roast veal (vitela asada).