Route of Ecology and Tagus River Labour

Hereby you can find what to visit in Seixal municipality, going through the natural, industrial and nautical heritage. While visiting you also have the possibility to know the manors, the churches, the ancient urban centers, as well as the festivals and fairs of the municipality.

You can still get to know better and make your reservation in our tour program, including boat trips on the Tagus. Come discover and spread out the best that Seixal municipality has to offer.

Route of Ecology and Tagus River Labour

Seixal Bay 
Seixal municipality Natural Heritage is essentially defined by the integration of about 10 per cent of its territory in the National Ecological Reserve, which includes Corroios Marshland, Coina Marshland and Talaminho Marshland. Seixal Bay is the ex libris of the municipality, which by its unique status possess natural conditions for several sports and leisure practices, offering a privileged landscape. It is also remarkable by the ornithological wealth and the existing aquatic fauna, in particular in Corroios Marshland. This spot is a temporary landing for many migratory birds like the flamingo, the tailorbird, wading bird, the heron and the wild duck, who seek for food and shelter. Corroios Marshland works also as a “maternity” and “nursing school” for several species of molluscs, crustaceans and fish. Along Seixal Bay shores, it’s sometimes possible to observe the birds feeding, the most emblematic being the herons and sporadically colonies of flamingos.

With an extensive riverfront, Seixal is a perfect destination for the practice of leisure nautical activities, not only for its unique characteristics, in particular the configuration of a natural shelter harbor, but also for its excellent location near the capital, Lisbon.

In Seixal Bay Nautical Centre, sailors visiting Seixal Bay rely on a qualified response and can make use of a docking pier, a mooring area, a hauling ramp and sailor support service, among other services and equipment related to the activity.

Traditional Boats of the Tagus

The bote de fragata (small frigate) “Baía do Seixal” and the varino “Amoroso” were acquired by the municipality, recovered and allowing, in particular, carrying out leisure boat trips in the Tagus River, between April and October each year.

These vessels have their own crews and are equipped with life-saving and navigation appliances, which follow all safety standards required by the maritime authorities and the legislation in force. 

The traditional sailing navigation techniques are practiced and transmitted in the process of using these vessels, preserved as floating heritage.

Its use on trips in the Tagus, combining educational and recreational goals, aims to contribute to the knowledge and interpretation of a vast fluvial-maritime heritage, which is of the most importance to the development of riverside regions.

The main support pier is located at Seixal Bay Nautical Centre, Seixal Leisure Nautical Centre (next to the garden).

Naval Unit

The Naval Unit, in Arrentela, presents a long-lasting exhibition named “Boats, Memories of the Tagus”, evoking the naval construction, the local traffic navigation and fishing as determinant aspects, not only of Seixal Municipality history, but also of the Tagus Estuary riverbank populations in general.

In the artisan workshop of Tagus model boats, there are skilled workers occupied with the construction and repairing of the models, made to scale according to plans of the Navy Museum or from the original plans of Tagus boats.

Opening hours: 
•    Tuesday to Friday: 9 am to 12 pm / 2 pm to 5 pm
•    Weekends: 2 pm to 5 pm (October to May) and 2.30 pm to 6.30 pm (June to September)

Closing Days: Mondays and Public Holidays 

Address: Av. da República – Arrentela

Corroios Marshland Birds Observatory

The Corroios Marshland Birds Observatory, located in Ponta dos Corvos, was inaugurated in September 2014. This structure, available for public use, was implemented by Grupo Flamingo - Environmental Defense Association, with the support of Seixal Municipality and Corroios Local Administrative Council, among other entities, aiming to create a place where you can observe birds easily and safely. The Observatory is the first infrastructure of this kind in Setúbal District built in recycled plastic.

Corroios Marshland is, since a long time ago, an area of great interest for birds. Despite being in the middle of an urban area, is a good place to observe various species of waterfowl, especially the waders (who lives in slime, sludge or mud).

Ponta dos Corvos River Beach and Surroundings
Located in front of the city of Seixal, across the Bay, it constitutes one of the flanks of Seixal sandbar, facing the vast Mar da Palha. Its name is due to the fact that we can find here often, especially in winter, cormorants (Corvos).

From Ponta dos Corvos we have a privileged overview to the largest estuary in Europe. Always with the Tagus River in the foreground, in the background you can see the cities of Lisbon, Almada and Barreiro.

In its beaches, mainly frequented in summer, arise in low tide vast shoals of sand and the remains of ancient oyster banks.

Ponta dos Corvos river beach is the first one in Tagus estuary properly classified and considered to have bathing quality. This fact deserves attention because it is undoubtedly a result of domestic effluent treatment effort, which has been done on both banks of the estuary in recent years. It stands out also the existence of an anchoring pier for river access, and during the bathing season the transport between Seixal historic centre and Ponta dos Corvos is guaranteed by a local vessel.

Fidalga Estate
 
Fidalga Estate is one of the most important examples of agricultural and leisure farms once existing in this region. Since the 17th century is documented its connection to the Gama Lobo family, of which several members have played the Royal service, especially while Financial Council Secretaries. 

Besides the manor house and the citrus orchards, which are testimonies of the past, its box gardens are worthy of highlight, conserving important tile panels, three pebbled fountains and a tidal lake, considered a rare monument in Portuguese hydraulic architecture.

In the middle of the 20th century, the estate underwent architectonic interventions directed by the architect Raul Lino, having changed the linkage between some of its spaces.

Fidalga Estate is property of Seixal City Council since 2001. 

Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday → 10 am to 12.30 pm and 2 pm to 5 pm (October to May) and from 2.30 pm to 6 pm (June to September).

Closing Days: Sunday and Monday

Address: Av. da República – Arrentela

Manuel Cargaleiro Arts Workshop
Included in Fidalga Estate, Manuel Cargaleiro Arts Workshop constitutes new and relevant equipment concerning the promotion of contemporary art and its main asset is to gather Siza Vieira architecture and Manuel Cargaleiro artistic work.

Besides the temporary exhibitions and cultural events, the Arts Workshop has an experimental component with a significant function, both in terms of exhibition programming, as well as concerning the educational program, promoting the know-how associated to studio work and the latest research and production of Master Manuel Cargaleiro.

Thus, the entire creative process, in its various dimensions, becomes visible to the public and this feature is a differentiating aspect of this project, constituting an asset in its cultural offer.

Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday → 10 am to 12 pm and 2.30 pm to 5 pm (October to May) and from 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm (June to September).

Closing Days: Sunday and Monday

Address: Av. da República – Arrentela

Trindade Estate

Dating back to the second half of the 15th century, Trindade Estate appears related to the testament of Brites Pereira, the widow of Rui de Melo, Admiral of Portugal during the reign of Afonso V, who left his Cabo da Azinheira properties to Trindade Monastery of Lisbon, an institution devoted to the saving of christian captives captured by muslims, and in whose possession was kept until 1834.

The Trindade Estate residence, as we know it today, underwent an intervention by Belgian architect Jules Brunfaut, in the last decade of de 19th century. 

In 1971, the residential building was classified as a Building of Public Interest. It integrates the Seixal Municipal Ecomuseum and its access is conditioned.

Address: Av. M.U.D. Juvenil, Azinheira, Seixal

Ancient Urban Centres

In Seixal Municipality it’s delimited four Ancient Urban Centres: Seixal, Arrentela, Amora (subdivided in uptown Amora and downtown Amora) and Aldeia de Paio Pires.

Besides its specific characteristics, these areas have common features, namely an older area, of variable extension and an urban structure with medieval roots, which has developed spontaneously, according to demographic needs. The existence of factories and labors, present at the beginning of the 20th century in each of the places, was also a major influence factor until today, concerning the growth and development of existing streets and toponymy.