About Esposende

Esposende belongs to the district Braga and it is the only city with connection to the ocean. It is situated between Vigo and Porto. Located near the cities of Viana do Castelo, Povoa de Varzim, Barcelos and Braga.

Occupation of the area of Esposende, dates back to pre-history, but nowadays there are only artifacts of stone or ceramic. The industries of metals are presented in the archeology of the region, and the Roman occupation is known through archaeological and documentary view and it is also included the barbarian kingdoms and the Middle Ages…

The age of the great Atlantic voyages was significant for Esposende and people cried loud, many times, to the King for privileges that comes lately. So the date of 1572 has an echo in the collective memory of Esposende: D. Sebastian raised the village then "place", creating the municipality that exists today.

Salt extraction industry, agriculture and herding coeval, joined to the era of sailing ships, shipbuilding and maritime commerce. The gold from Brazil also reached Esposende, and later, some of the people went back to Brazil to come back here again as "Brazileiros de torna viagem". It is not a surprise that richness has a strong brand equity of centuries after the sixteenth. In a county that combines all aspects of nature, Esposende has to offer and extensive sand dunes, pine forests and woodlands, hills and fossil cliffs, rivers and sea, all framed in a dynamic equilibrium that allow us to say: "Esposende, a privilege of nature".

The marsh and estuary of Cávado river that go with, it is presented as a strategic place for the migratory birds that look for a refuge from the cold of the harshest winters in the North and Central Europe. Neiva river and its clear waters, green pine forest of Ofir and the stunning views that offer different viewpoints about Esposende, are just some of the interesting features of the county in which the richness of the natural landscape and heritage built by human hand as is the case of windmills, fields in the trough, the forts and mills, are combined in a unique harmony, forming landscapes of high scenic and environmental value and confirms Esposende as one of the most beautiful counties in the North region.