Costa Azul is situated south of Lisbon’s autoroute. The best exit that you can pass through is located at Palmela, a place where an excellent castle pousada is located. Costa Azul is a serene and beautiful terrain obviously blessed with the natural wonders of Mother Nature. Most of the tourists fondly call the place Costa Azul, but in reality, it is really a peninsula lying between the Sado and Tagus rivers and the Atlantic Ocean.The key towns of Costa Azul include Vila Noguiera de Azeitao and Vila Fresca. Vila Noguiera de Azeitao is actually another name for the region and the place is only 15 miles away from Lisbon. At night, the sky is very black and clearly free from smoke, fog, and other forms of pollutions. You can clearly see the stars at night.
A lot of tourists and foreigners visit the place not only to enjoy its beautiful sceneries but also to have a relaxing experience away from the city.
Places to Go
If you are craving for sumptuous seafood while you are in Costa Azul, you should visit Azeitao because they serve wonderful and scrumptious seafood in unprepossessing restaurants. You can experience exquisite dining with fine ceramics and fine tasting wines with a breathtaking historical ambience.
You can also find grand Moorish castles along Costa Azul. Most of these military constructions have been preserved and turned into elegant and classical inns or Pousadas. There is one Moorish castle that has been untouched and has been left as is as it was when the owners of the castles departed. The certain Moorish castle is located at Sesimbra, a small fishing village. The castle overlooks the see and is splendidly lit up at night.
Ancient palaces, estates, and churches are well distributed all over the place. These ancient structures are filled with beautiful tiles and artworks which make them valuable and worthy to be called classical beauties.
Costa Azul also offers bars that displays local cheeses, breads, and fine tasting wines such as Setúbal Moscatel. Most of the foreigners and tourists who have tasted the Setúbal Moscatel say that it is way different from the Moscatel found in the US. The breads in Costa Azul are very wonderful and different from other breads from around the world. It is full of holes in texture, strong and chewy, with a delicious and distinct yeasty taste.
Signature Items
One of the signature items in Costa Azul are its aulejos or tiles. In Costa Azul, the tiles are made just like it was in the 16th and 17th centuries. Usually, whole panels of tiles are produced and most of the designs are copied from antique panels.
The making of tiles is a tourist attraction in Costa Azul because the process is fascinating to watch. You can visit the Sao Simão workshop located in Vila Fresca de Azeitao. The owner will graciously give tourists a tour to show them how the operations work. There are also other nearby workshops that make jugs and dishes by hand just like in the past centuries. El Azetuna in Vila Nogueira is a place where you can find workshops that make jugs and dishes by hand.
The old wine cellars in Fonseca, located at Vila Nogueira are in the process of modernizing but there is a portion of the place that will be preserved as a museum. The building is adorned with magnificent tiles. Behind the cellars is a beautiful garden which is an epitome of peace and calmness. Although the place has no shop or restaurant, it has a place for selling handmade tiles, postcards, and wine. The old wine cellar, named Quinta da Bacalhôa, is said to have the oldest tiles in all of Portugal – aside from those tiles found in the Tile Museum. The tiles are said to be about 450 years old.
An ancient monastery belongs to Fundaçao Oriente. You can ask for a tour around the monastery as long as you make prior arrangements. Usually, tourists and visitors will be toured in groups of eight and a Portuguese-speaking tour guide will be responsible for the whole session. A trip inside the ancient monastery will give visitors a glimpse of the austere rooms of the people who live there.
Setúbal is a town in Costa Azul that offers boats that delivers fresh fishes. You can eat the fresh fishes in a restaurant located behind the docks such as O Grelhador da Doca or Rio Azul.
Troia is a small peninsula which is seldom visited by visitors who wish to have peace and quiet. The place has a wonderful beach and a divine golf course. There are no discos in any part of Troia that’s why the place is very quiet and peaceful at night.
Investing In Costa Azul
Although there are some places in Costa Azul that still needs to be developed, it should be taken in a positive manner. A place that still does not have a lot of commercial buildings and developments does not mean that it is not a prosperous place. It just means that the area is still on the process of developing and it is full of potential business and investing opportunities.
If you are planning to buy a business or commercial property in Costa Azul, you will surely not regret it because in due time, more and more people will learn to appreciate the charms of the place. You can also buy Costa Azul apartments that are overlooking its pristine sea. The properties in Costa Azul are still quite affordable today but real estate experts say that a few years from now, the prices will surge up making the net value of the properties also shoot up.
Whatever kind of property you choose to buy in Costa Azul, you can be sure that you are putting your money in a safe investment because the place is very beautiful and it is just like a paradise waiting to be discovered by people from all over the world.