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Setúbal is a Portuguese city, capital of the district of Setúbal, in the region of Lisbon and sub-region of the Península de Setúbal.
Setúbal already existed since the time of the Romans (being at the time a village) having the neighboring city Palmela been conquered by Afonso Henriques in 1147.
Passing through the landscape from the top of Arrábida or floating to the tide in the marina of Setúbal, there is always an invitation to great moments, especially since the bay offers a multitude of experiences: the city and the mountains; the Sado estuary and the Atlantic beaches, historical monuments and gastronomic delights.
Historic Center of Setúbal
Bocage Square
St. Julian's Church
Serpa Pinto Street
Throughout the Historic Center details are highlighted. The saints of the facade registers that habitually protect Portuguese houses in the Baixa, as in the case of Rua Dr. Paula Borba, are often patrons against earthquakes or fires, calamities that throughout history have devastated the area several times.
Largo da Misericórdia
Largo de Santa Maria
Baroque Museum - Casa do Corpo Santo
Descend by Rua António Joaquim Granjo, towards Avenida Luísa Todi.
House of the Lion

The Serra da Arrábida is a small mountain range that extends for 35 kilometers and whose highest point rises to about 500 meters above sea level. Visiting the mountains, classified as a Natural Park, means a mixture of nature and bathing in one of the several beaches that spread through the foothills facing the Atlantic. A walk through Arrábida can begin at the foot of the beach. Along the coast await several beaches, with fine, warm sand, refreshed by the ocean. Figueirinha is one of the largest and best known, where the car park facilitates access. But there are small refuges, veritable enclaves among the silhouette of the mountain range, such as Galapagos and Galapinhos, that can seduce those who seek the quiet of more isolated places. Parking or less practical pedestrian access should not detract from the search for peace, since any of these beaches is well worth the small effort.
On the way, in front of the Crearo beach, the curious Pedra da Anicha rips the "oceanic plain", emerging through the water and offering refuge to different marine species, which is why it was classified as a Zoological Reserve. On land, for lovers of history, there is the opportunity to visit the archaeological station of Creiro, a vestige of a Roman industrial complex of fish salgas.
On the access road to Portinho, you will find Lapa de Santa Margarida, which is reached by descending a long staircase, with a hidden start in front of a Casa do Gaiato building and winding the slope to the sea level.
At the entrance, a singular perspective for the Rock of Anicha, the Arrábida and Troia almost cuts off the breath. In the interior, where the mountain rests its weight on our heads and the small grotto is enlarged by the noise of the waves, we can admire stalactites and stalagmites, and the remains of an altar that the popular devotion caused to erect. Here the oldest vestiges of Man's presence in the mountain were found, going back to the Lower Palaeolithic.
When following the trip, the ideal is to observe from far away what was lived very closely. Climbing the mountain range, along the panoramic road, you will find stunning landscapes. Several natural viewpoints appear as if out of nowhere among the curves of Arrábida and feel like touching the car every five minutes.
Through the green vegetation of the Natural Park, there are clearings that unveil unique perspectives of the beaches and the sea, and in a second, the magnificence of Nature reminds us how beauty can take on the most varied forms.
The entrance to the Arrábida Convent, which, since 1542, splashed harmoniously from white to green hillsides. In order to make a visit, otherwise quite advisable, it is necessary to make appointments at Fundação Oriente, the current entity that owns it.
For about an hour and a half we can see the spaces where for centuries Franciscan friars lived. In the Convent, the senses are dispersed by the historical and panoramic details on the hillside with which the visitors are presented.
The rest of the tour is back to Setúbal, by the top of the mountain, always with viewpoints, such as Santa and Antenas, to challenge for more stops and to postpone the return to the city.
Due to the historical involvement with the estuary of the river Sado and the proximity of the ports of Setúbal and Sesimbra to the Atlantic Ocean, the gastronomy of the region of Setúbal makes a strong use of fish dishes and products that develop favorably in the climate of region. In fact, the proximity of its fish source was an important economic engine, particularly in the cannery industry in the city of Setúbal, but in the meantime it had disappeared from the mid-1970s until its total relocation to other parts of the country. Although most of the local gastronomy is based on fish dishes, the population migration of the Alentejo and Algarve regions brought changes to the gastronomy with the introduction of new meats and poultry dishes, and of açordas that adapted to shellfish and fish. Also part of the gastronomic repertoire of the city are spirits (muscatel wine and liqueurs), cheeses, fruits and traditional sweets typical of the region.

The city of Setúbal is renowned for gastronomy based on dishes of roasted, boiled or grilled fish. It is very common to find restaurants in the area serving grilled sardines, usually served with accompaniment of cooked potatoes and lettuce salad seasoned with olive oil and vinegar. It is also possible to find dishes of grilled or cooked fish, such as grilled red mullet seasoned with fish liver sauce. Most of the restaurants in this area have Choco fried house specialty, which is cuttlefish, wrapped in breadcrumbs and egg which is then fried and served accompanied with chips and salad being one of the dishes most sought after by the visitors of the sadina city.

Other dishes based on seafood include: feijoadas and salads based on cuttlefish and octopus; dishes based on seafood from the Sado river (santola, crab, navalheira); dishes made with mollusks ("Bulhão Pato" clams, oysters, lamejinhas, cockles, razors, scallops, sea snails); fish or shellfish stews, now made more often in cataplanes (an inheritance of Arab culture); and also masses of grouper or other fish.

The wine production in the region of Setúbal gave rise to internationally recognized products, with a variety of quality red and white wines, obtained from mature grapes on the slopes of Serra da Arrábida. Among these products must be the Moscatel de Setúbal, a renowned liqueur wine of demarcated origin centered in Azeitão. Arrabidine liqueur, less known to the public, was originally produced by the friars who lived in the Convent of Our Lady of Arrábida, but more recently it is produced by a family from the parish of Quinta do Anjo. In the production of this liquor, whose manufacture, begun in the nineteenth century, is shrouded in secrecy, it is known that wild fruits are harvested during the month of December in the Serra da Arrábida as well as other unique ingredients of the region. Arrabidine liqueur is bottled and needs to be aged for about 15 years before being consumed.

From the repertoire of traditional confectionery in the region of Setúbal are queijadas, tarts, and "those from Azeitão" - biscuits with the shape of the letter "S", made with flour, sugar, margarine, eggs and cinnamon. From Setúbal also stand out the "shells" of orange, made from oranges produced in the region. Finally, the production of cheese is one of the significant artisan and economic activities of this region of the French Riviera.
Setúbal is a city closed to the north and the west by the mounts of Palmela and the Gaiteiros and by the slope of S. Filipe, that extends by Arrábida; however, to the south and the east is open, flat, on one side with the mouth of the Sado, on the other by plains and marshes. The city itself was built on marshes and grew partly on the várzea. This geographical implantation gives it a very peculiar climate, where the temperatures oscillate significantly.

Setúbal can be the city with the highest maximum temperatures, as well as the lowest minimum temperatures, especially in the summer. In fact, Setubal is often the coastal town with the lowest minimums, either in the summer or in the winter.
 Generally, their temperatures are pleasant during the day and cumbersome at night, especially if they are northeastern, which is often the case in July and August. These characteristics make it common, on the same day, to be identical to that of Évora and the minimum identical to that of Braga.
The humidity also varies rapidly between very dry and very humid, leading to cold entraining in the bones, especially when dry, and heat to lodge in the skin, especially when moist. But, as in any land, its inhabitants adapt to the characteristics that it offers to them, that in general they are not good or bad or rather to the contrary, as by grace is said. They are what they are.
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