New Year

We wish our readers all the best for 2006

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Marinha Grande

Marinha Grande is a city part of the district of Leiria that has a population of around 28 000. The two main industrial activities area glass and Moulds were it has earned the name of European Capital for Moulding Industry with more than 250 factories operating there. This small city has made some notable improvements in the last few years by adding two big parks in the town centre.

Both include green spaces, swings for children, lakes, radical sports area and many other facilities that helped turn this once grey industrial city into a greener family orientated get away. Other sites to see are the many glass factories that all boast a show room were artistic glass masterpieces are displayed and available for purchase.

Historical sites

Leiria’s Historical zone is by far one of the most beautiful and visited sites.With its narrow roads that turn unexpectedly leading to hidden places and large churches tucked away in between old buildings this is by far one of the nicest parts of Leiria. To try and explain is quite impossible one has to see it to appreciate its full beauty.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

To all our readers, the Portugalalive Team wishes a Happy New Year!
Don't forget to drink some Port!

New PortugalAlive

We are happy to present to you our wonderful readers the new blog. After some time adjusting the links and creating the all new logo we can say that the revamped site is up and running. The PortugalAlive team hopes that you enjoy the new layout and anxiously awaits hearing from you soon.

Algarve best golf destination 2006

Algarve has bean selected by the international Association of Golf operators (IAGTO) has the best golf destination of 2006, beating regions like California and Dubai.

The award Established Golf Destination of the Year 2006 was announced during the IAGTO Award Gala at Las Palmas (Spain) and is based on criteria such as quality of courses, accommodation, professional assistance and user satisfaction.

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Socrates hopes third time's charm

 

The social democrat Carlos Zorrinho is now the third coordinator of Portugal's Technological Plan. His predecessor Miguel Lebre de Freitas only occupied this position for less than a month and José Albuquerque Tavares, the first of the three only lasted five months.   

 

 

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Portuguese pictures

If you have any photos of Portugal from your holidays or you live here and want to show off your hometown, please mail us your pictures and we will post them for the world to see. the next few days we will try and gather more photos from Portuguese cities that aren't that well known.

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Porto

Porto is the second largest city in Portugal after Lisbon with a population of around 260.000 and of 1.500 000 in the greater metropolitan area. Porto is located in the north of Portugal facing the Atlantic Ocean boasting historic references that go back as far as the 5th century and roman times. If one wants to talk about Porto we have to mention it’s wine, “vinho do Porto” that is world renown alongside its beautiful river “Rio Douro” that plays an important role in it’s production. PortugalAlive will bring more photos of Porto in the future.

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Praça Rodrigues lobo

Leiria town centre. This beautiful “praça” looks like it jumped out from the pages of a book from Eça de Queirós for it is still faithful to its origins. With its distinct stores and renowned Cafes, it’s a place were people come to relax and enjoy a few hours in the city’s historical neighbourhood.

Castelo de Leiria

Here is another picture of Leiria. This small city has a population of around 50.000 and the municipality as a whole has a population of nearly 120.000. This is a picture of the castle that stans in the middle of the city.

 

Estadio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa

This beautiful stadium with its vibrant colours is today one of the greatest land marks in Leiria. Built to host the Euro2004 soccer tournament it stands out near the city centre transforming this city into a great place to visit in your trip to Portugal. To assist the stadium new roads were built and a green belt greeted all along the margins of the Rio Liz transforming this once lifeless area into one off the nicest places to visit in Leiria. To further assist the many fans that travelled to this city new hotels and restaurants were also created providing an even better experience for those that like all round quality.

Welcome to Caldas da Rainha

I would like to introduce you to a beautiful city that was founded around its healing waters. Queen D. Leonor suffered of some skin problems and as she was passing by a village saw some people bathing in the warm waters. People told her that the waters had some miraculous powers so the Queen decided to try bathing in those waters. After she left the fountains she felt great improvement and told her servants to go back “Tornemos!” she said. That means “Let us go back”. Today that same street is called “Tornada” and the thermal hospital (the first in Europe, founded by Queen D. Leonor), is attracting people from all over the world. By the way, the healing waters came from a sleeping volcano that’s under the town.
Next week I’ll be back with another story.