Monday 2 November 2020

SÃO MARTINHO DO PORTO


SÃO MARTINHO DO PORTO
N 39º 30' 15''; W 9º 8' 10''

São Martinho do Porto is a Portuguese city (Vila) in the Alcobaça district and in the Oeste sub-region. It is located on a lagoon that opens only with a narrow passage to the Atlantic Ocean. According to its own information, it has 5000 permanent residents (in the 2001 census: 2644) and an area of ​​14.9 km². It borders to the north on the municipality of Famalicão in the district of Nazaré, to the east on the municipality of Alfeizerão and to the south on the municipality of Salir do Porto in the district of Caldas da Rainha. The place is 14 km south of Nazaré and 100 km north of Lisbon.
The lagoon has always been at the center of the economic development of São Martinho do Porto. It opens to the open ocean at a width of only about 200 meters, then extends into the land at a depth of 900 meters and a width of 1,400 meters. There is only one narrow fairway to get in by ship.
São Martinho do Porto has an unusually attractive landscape, with the almost circular lagoon, the narrow breakthrough to the ocean, on the southern side of a protected dune landscape and the beautiful mountain ranges. The location made São Martinho do Porto a very popular summer resort in the 19th century. Buildings have given way. The city also has more than 40,000 visitors annually.