Loures between the Tagus, Wine and History

On the Passadiços do Tejo, bridges and tunnels cross the marshland, while viewpoints offer views of birds and the Tagus. Other highlights include viewpoints at Cabeço de Montachique, museums in a former monastery and factory setting, and Bucelas’s winemaking tradition. In Loures, nature trails, cultural history and regional produce sit side by side.

Loures lies in the outskirts of Lisbon. Historically, the area has been shaped by its saloio heritage: its vegetable gardens once supplied the city with vegetables and fresh produce. Today, this connection to regional ways of life can be discovered in museums and at events, as well as out on the trails.

Nature Trails and Views

The Estação da Biodiversidade de Fontelas combines a hiking trail about one kilometre long with nine information panels about local fauna and flora. It is also a citizen science site: visitors can record and identify species using the “RIPAR” method and share them via biodiversity4all.org. Check the participation platform before your visit. The short trail and information panels make Fontelas a nature stop in its own right, while other trails in Loures offer longer routes or different landscapes.

Parque do Cabeço de Montachique covers 32 hectares of diverse woodland. The panoramic swing at Cabeço de Montachique is at an altitude of 409 metres and offers 360-degree views across the Lisbon region, as far as Almada and Serra de Sintra. At Parque da Várzea e Costeiras, the focus is on birdwatching, walks, educational activities and nature tourism. If you’re looking for an active outing, the adventure park at Parque Municipal do Cabeço de Montachique offers tree climbing, a slide, orienteering and paintball; check the facilities before you go.

The Passadiços do Tejo is a 6.1-kilometre walking and cycling route between Santa Iria de Azóia and Sacavém. It crosses marshland and includes bridges, tunnels and viewpoints for birdwatching and views of the Tagus. Check the route conditions before setting out. The pilgrimage route to Fátima and Santiago offers a different perspective: it enters Loures near Sacavém and follows a nearly flat, 5.8-kilometre stretch along the River Trancão. The 5.8 kilometres refer to this section of the pilgrimage route; the 6.1 kilometres is the length of the Passadiços between its two endpoints.

Museums and Historic Traces

Since 1998, the Museu Municipal de Loures has been housed at Quinta do Conventinho, an Arrábida Franciscan monastery founded in 1574. The museum offers exhibitions, tours, guided visits, accessible storage collections, a shop and a chapel. The Museu de Cerâmica de Sacavém is in a purpose-built building on the former site of the Fábrica de Loiça de Sacavém. It preserves and interprets the factory’s heritage in the context of the industrialisation of the Concelho Loures. The museum includes two exhibition rooms and Forno 18, an example of kiln architecture.

The Rota Memorial do Convento passes through Loures and links historic and landscape monuments from the 18th century between Lisbon and Mafra. It is also a tribute to José Saramago. On the route’s website, visitors can select places using an interactive map and follow the novel’s geographical lines; check the map function before planning your visit. In Frielas, the remains of a Roman villa include mosaic floors dating from the 3rd to 4th centuries AD. The Espaço Memória dos Saloios at Tété in Lousa preserves local saloio arts, ways of life and identity. The Núcleo Museológico Casa-Museu José Pedro displays ceramic works created by José da Silva Pedro during the last twenty years of his life.

Bucelas, Wine and Local Traditions

The permanent exhibition at the Museu do Vinho e da Vinha presents key stages of vineyard work and traditional winemaking methods. Bucelas wine is produced in Loures, within a wine-growing area demarcated in 1911. Since March 2012, the same building as the wine museum has also housed the Centro de Interpretação da Rota Histórica das Linhas de Torres. It covers the period of the French Invasions and the fortifications built to defeat the Napoleonic armies.

At Quinta da Murta, vineyard and winery visits with wine tastings are available by prior arrangement; petiscos can accompany the tasting. The Rota dos Vinhos de Bucelas, Carcavelos e Colares offers visits to wineries in Bucelas and wine tastings. As arrangements and the participation of individual producers may vary, confirm the offers in advance. Arinto & Sabores Saloios, a wine event held next to the Museu do Vinho e da Vinha in Bucelas, features guided tastings and saloio products. The Festival do Caracol Saloio offers the chance to try original dishes made with snails and other gastropods. Confirm the dates of the current editions before your trip.

The Carnaval Saloio de Loures also adds a seasonal highlight: it takes place in February and includes the presentation of the Carnival kings, balls, parades and a closing ceremony on Ash Wednesday. Check the dates and programme for the edition you plan to attend.

Getting There and More Destinations

The Concelho Loures is served by trains on the CP line to Azambuja and by the red line of the Lisbon Metro. As transport services may change, check connections before your trip.

Discover more destinations: Sacavém, Camarate, Portela, São João da Talha, Bucelas, Santa Iria De Azóia, Prior Velho, Loures.

For the main travel overview: Lisbon.