Leça da Palmeira lies on the far side of the Leixões harbour from Matosinhos. It is known well beyond Portugal for two early works by the architect Álvaro Siza, who was born nearby: the Piscina das Marés, tidal swimming pools set into the rocks in 1966, and the Boa Nova Tea House of 1963 on the headland.
The seafront is a long, open promenade with a beach, the tall Leça lighthouse and Atlantic weather. Behind it the town is residential and unhurried, with the wooded Quinta da Conceição park and the Exponor exhibition centre on its inland side.
There is no metro. Buses cross the harbour bridge to Matosinhos, where line A begins, and the airport is about ten minutes away by car. People choose Leça for the ocean and the quiet, and accept the extra step into the city.
Sushi restaurant in Leça da Palmeira. Address: Rua Veloso Salgado 545, 4450-801.
Restaurant in Leça da Palmeira. Address: Avenida da Liberdade, 4450-718.
Interiors in Leça da Palmeira. Address: Avenida Arquiteto Fernando Távora, 4455-877.
Bar in Leça da Palmeira. Address: Rua Coronel Hélder Ribeiro, 4450.
Tapas bar in Leça da Palmeira. Address: Rua Coronel Hélder Ribeiro 877.
Tapas bar in Leça da Palmeira. Address: Avenida Liberdade.
Restaurant in Leça da Palmeira.
Furniture in Leça da Palmeira.
Restaurant in Leça da Palmeira.
