Afurada Guide Porto

Afurada

Afurada is a traditional fishing village, south of the River Douro in Porto, a little way west of the port wine lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia.

Visitors from Porto arrive by car, bus, and taxi over the Ponte da Arrábida or ride the quaint wooden ferry that sails to and fro across the river during the day. [Now suspended]

Most come to sample the superb fresh fish for lunch or dinner, on offer in numerous small restaurants scattered throughout Afurada. There are, though, other reasons to make the short hop from the crowded streets of Ribeira north of the Douro.

These include the interesting Interpretive Heritage Center of Afurada (Centro Interpretativo do Património da Afurada), a free, two story museum packed with exhibits donated by the local people detailing the lifestyle of the village's inhabitants. These include traditional, wooden fishing boats, ropes, model ships, clothing, original photographs, a collection of sea shells and information on the local wildlife in the Douro estuary. The Interpretive Heritage Center of Afurada is open daily from 10 am - 12.30 pm and 1.30 pm - 6 pm.

Afurada is also home to a communal laundry or wash house where the local washerwomen (lavadeiras) wash the family laundry in large tanks before leaving it to dry on lines strung out on the nearby beach.

Bicycles can be hired (or brought over on the ferry) to cycle west to explore the Douro Estuary Natural Reserve, where the River Douro flows in to the Atlantic Ocean, and to swim at the beach at Praia Estrela do Mar. The bicycle path leads all the way to Espinho.

There's a modern marina with a wide plaza out front lined with cafes and their tables and umbrellas. To your left are views over the River Douro and the sandy beaches of the estuary.

Afurada, Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto, Portugal. — Fresh fish grilling on a charcoal street grill

However, it is the freshness of the sardines and dorada (Gilthead seabream), brought just a few yards from the fishing boats to the charcoal grills, that attracts the majority of visitors to Afurada.

The grills are set up on the streets outside the restaurants and serve the freshly charcoaled fish with whole potatoes, salad and rough cut bread washed down with either beer or red or white wine. Portuguese vinho verde also goes well with the delicious food.

The restaurants fill up at lunchtimes at the weekends and public holidays but just walk around and you will find a table soon enough.

Afurada ferry, Porto, Portugal. — Ferry across the River Douro at Afurada

Access - getting to Afurada

To get from Porto to Afurada take a taxi over the Ponte da Arrábida or ride the Porto metro over the Ponte Luis I Bridge to Jardim do Morro Station, direction Santo Ovidio, just one stop from Sao Bento Station. Then take a local bus #93 or #96 west to Afurada.

The fun way to get to and from Afurada is to take the very cheap ferry from Fonte de Ouro a couple of minutes across the river to the boat pier just east of Interpretive Heritage Center of Afurada.

The boat runs Monday to Saturday 6 am-9 pm and Sunday 8 am-9 pm. UpdateThe ferry ceased operations in November 2020 though there is pressure from local residents on both banks to restart the service.