Parque da Cidade da Póvoa de Varzim

The Parque da Cidade da Póvoa de Varzim is a public park of about 30 hectares on the inland side of the town, between the A28 motorway and the built-up area. It opened on 30 June 2009, during Póvoa’s São Pedro festivities, and was designed by the landscape architect Professor Sidónio Pardal.

The land was a flat plain of fields, small farms and a little stream. Pardal reshaped it completely, raising grassy hills and banks to shelter the park from the motorway and digging a lake. The council describes the lake as the element that holds the whole landscape together. The wider park also includes the Estádio Municipal and football pitches.

For children, the draw is simple: lots of space, water to walk around, hills to climb and roll down, and playgrounds.

The lake covers 2 hectares. In the middle is an island about 130 metres long and 20 metres wide, planted with a line of trees and ringed with rocks that stick out of the water. Visitors can’t reach the island. According to Portugal With Kids, swans and ducks live on the lake.

About 3 km of paths loop around the lake. Along them are some 20 resting points built in granite and sometimes schist, some shaped like small squares or amphitheatres, others more secluded. A stream feeds the lake, and there’s a eucalyptus wood on the east side and a fairly high hill with a view over the park and the water.

Portugal With Kids describes playgrounds with play structures ranging from slides to a zip line (known in Portuguese as a slide). The council doesn’t publish a list of the equipment, so ask your child to go and scout it out before you commit to a spot on the grass.

There’s also a fitness circuit for adults and teenagers, wide lawns for ball games and picnics, and paths for walking and cycling. About 1,600 trees of 26 species have been planted, many of them still young, so shade is patchy on open ground. The woodier parts are near the stream and the eucalyptus grove.

The birdwatching site Aves de Portugal lists the park as a good place to watch birds. Near the stream that feeds the lake it records wrens, stonechats and black redstarts, with tits in the pines and waterbirds on the lake. With open views across the water and paths all the way round, it’s an easy place to start a child on birdwatching.

Toddlers get paths for a buggy ride, ducks and swans to watch, and playground time. Children of 4 to 7 get the playgrounds and hills to roll down. Children of 8 to 12 can race round the 3 km of lakeside paths on a bike, try the zip line and climb the lookout hill. Teenagers can use the fitness circuit, play ball on the lawns or cycle.

The park is free. Wikipedia lists toilets, a fitness circuit and a car park, and says the park was designed without bars or cafés so that people would focus on the lawns and nature. Portugal With Kids lists a café, so things may have changed; bring water and a picnic to be safe.

The council hasn’t published opening hours. Young trees mean little shade on the open lawns, so bring hats in summer. To arrive by car, the birdwatching site’s directions are: leave the A28 at the Póvoa de Varzim exit, take the first right at the first roundabout (by the Continente hypermarket), then the first right again, and continue about 200 metres to the car park at the entrance. People on foot from Amorim can cross the motorway on the Pontão das Sencadas footbridge.

Póvoa’s council pools, with a learner pool and outdoor summer pools, are covered on our page for the Piscinas Municipais da Póvoa de Varzim. Next door in Vila do Conde, the Centro Ciência Viva is a hands-on science centre about water, and the Nau Quinhentista is a replica 16th-century ship you can board.

Is the Parque da Cidade in Póvoa de Varzim free?

Yes. Entry is free, and there’s parking at the entrance.

Is there a playground in the Parque da Cidade da Póvoa?

Yes. Portugal With Kids lists playgrounds with slides and a zip line.

Can you walk around the lake with a buggy?

Yes. About 3 km of paths run round the lake, with plenty of places to stop.

Can you go on the island?

No. The island in the middle of the lake is closed to visitors.