Matosinhos

Right next to Oporto, Matosinhos is, in spite of its industrial port, renowned for its gastronomy based on seafood and also popular for its coastline of small beaches enclosed by rocks beaten by the sea.

But the county also boasts of a valuable patrimony visible in monuments such as the Monastery of Le�a do Bailio, the first headquarters of the Order of Hospitallers in Portugal and with a 14th-century fortified church exhibiting Gothic arches and a beautiful rose window.

Close to the city of Matosinhos, the church of Bom Jesus was rebuilt by the famous architect Nasoni in the 18th century and has an impressive gilded altarpiece with a wooden statue of Christ which is honoured during a popular religious festival each June.

At Le�a da Palmeira, it is worth visiting Quinta da Concei��o, where the former Convent of Our Lady of the Conception has been restored and integrated in a beautiful municipal park which also offers sports and leisure facilities.

Le�a da Palmeira also boasts of a 17th-century fortress and of the Boa Nova Lighthouse, near which a restaurant and tea-room overlooking the sea was built by one of Portugal's most famous modern architects, Siza Vieira.

The gastronomy of Matosinhos deserves its reputation and attracts many visitors which come to this traditional fishing zone in search of excellent fish and seafood and where they may taste specialities such as caldeirada � pescador (a rich stew of several kinds of fish), mexilh�es � moda de Le�a (delicious dish of mussels), a�orda de marisco (shellfish with mashed bread seasoned with garlic and olive oil) or arroz de tamboril (monkfish rice), among many others that are served at a large number of restaurants.

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