Located on the Atlantic Coast of the Central Region of Portugal, integrated in the District of Aveiro and the Intermunicipal Community of the Aveiro Region, the Municipality of Murtosa consists of four parishes – Bunheiro, Monte, Murtosa and Torreira –, which extend over an area of about 74 km2. According to the 2021 Census the population is 10,476 individuals.
There are several ways to reach the municipality of Murtosa, either by individual transport or using public transport.
For many years the Murtoseira population emigrated, moving mainly to the United States of America, Brazil and Venezuela.
They also moved within our territory, namely to Cascais, Sesimbra, Setúbal, Alcácer do Sal and Olhão and also by the beaches of the Tagus, where they took care of picking up the shad.
In trade, the search for better working conditions led the population to settle in Porto and Lisbon. This aspect of the population exodus can be contemplated through murtoseira architecture. Housing houses clearly show the great migratory influence, especially abroad.
In the heart of the Ria de Aveiro, by the sea, the Murtoseiro Territory is endowed with a unique natural heritage, with high landscape beauty and great environmental wealth. The flat morphology invites the visitor to long and quiet walks, on foot or by bike, to discover the fauna and flora, by the riverside banks or through the fertile fields.
From the ancestral relationship of the Murtoseiros with land and water, persist those who were, and continue to be, along with tourism and industry, the main economic activities of the municipality: agriculture and fishing.
Know the crafts – the basketry, the miniatures of boats or the cangas – and the gastronomy, where the eel, in stew or in escabeche sauce, is queen, along with the rojões to the farmer, lamprey, shad, the sponge cake of the Barquinho and the pastels Monte Branco, Anchor and cream.
Enjoy the immense sandy beach of the Torreira sea beach or look for the tranquility of the lagoon beaches: Monte Branco, in the Parish of Torreira, or bico, in the Parish of Murtosa.
Come and experience the Pilgrimage of S. Paio da Torreira, the most famous and popular in the region that attracts, year after year, thousands of visitors from all over the country.
Although proud of its traditions and history, the Municipality of Murtosa has its eyes set on the future. Environmental tourism and the focus on sustainable means of locomotion, in particular cycling, are two fundamental vectors of a development that is both sustained and sustainable, making the territory more attractive, friendly to people and the environment, where it is increasingly desirable to live.
Source: Murtosa Town Hall