Praia da Rua 37

Espinho is a seaside town at the northern tip of Aveiro district, on the main railway line between Porto and Lisbon. That makes it one of the easiest real beach days you can have without a car. Espinho’s tourism office says suburban trains on the Linha de Aveiro take about 20 minutes from Porto Campanhã and about 33 minutes from Aveiro.

The town has a string of beaches along its seafront. The Praia da Rua 37 is the one with the most going for it in 2026: a Blue Flag, the accessible beach award and the Quercus gold flag for water quality.

The Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente (APA) describes the Rua 37 beach as an urban beach of pale sand, with a boardwalk along the seafront that you can follow for its whole length. The tourism office adds that the fine, clean sand makes it good for sport, especially beach volleyball, which is one of the most popular games here.

This is the open Atlantic, so there are waves and the water is cool. Small children are happiest digging, running on the flat sand and jumping in the foam at the edge with an adult. The next beach along, Baía, has rocky schist outcrops in front of it, according to the APA, which older children may like to look at from the sand.

Before the 2026 season, army engineers from the regiment based in Espinho levelled and reshaped the sand on the town’s beaches with the council.

Espinho extended its bathing season in 2026, from 1 June to 20 September, longer than most beaches in the region. The beach concessions normally provide lifeguards, so the council paid for extra cover itself for the early and late weeks, from 1 to 14 June and from 16 to 20 September.

The flags work in the usual way: green for swimming allowed, yellow for take care and don’t swim, red for don’t go in, and chequered for no lifeguard on duty. The APA classifies the water at Rua 37 as Excellent.

Rua 37 is part of the national accessible beach programme (Praia Acessível, Praia para Todos), which the council says guarantees access to the sand and to the sea, and there are amphibious chairs here. The seafront boardwalk helps with a buggy too.

Right next door, the Praia Azul has a council project called Maré Inclusiva, run with the Espinho parish council, with adapted access to the sand, platforms to sit on near the water, amphibious chairs and trained volunteers who help people during their time on the beach. It runs every day in the bathing season from 10:00 to 12:00 and 15:00 to 18:00.

The tourism office lists a beach bar, beach tent (barraca) hire, showers and toilets at Rua 37, and the APA adds a first-aid post.

Dogs are not allowed on the supervised beach during the bathing season, except certified assistance dogs, under the maritime authority’s standard beach rules.

Espinho puts on a lot for children through its Blue Flag environmental programme. On the Praia Azul, the Centro Azul e Verde is a beach centre where you can borrow educational games and books from a themed beach library, with regular environmental and eco-art workshops and games and sports. In 2026 it opened on weekdays from 14 July to 27 August and from 8 to 18 September, 09:00 to 16:30.

The 2026 programme also included a giant canvas board game played on the sand in teams, about the history of Espinho and protecting local nature; weekly meet-ups for nature-themed board games; storytelling workshops; and quiz games with the Lipor waste service that visited several beaches, Rua 37 among them. The council publishes the programme each summer.

Espinho has an indoor council pool with a shallow learner pool, useful on a grey day: see Piscina Municipal de Espinho. Inland, Santa Maria da Feira has a castle with a playground in its grounds: see Parque Infantil do Castelo. Further south on the same railway line, Aveiro is the gateway to Praia da Costa Nova and its striped houses.

How do you get to Espinho beach from Porto by train?

Take a suburban train on the Linha de Aveiro from Porto Campanhã to Espinho. Espinho’s tourism office puts the journey at about 20 minutes.

Are there lifeguards at Praia da Rua 37?

Yes. In 2026 the bathing season, with lifeguards, ran from 1 June to 20 September.

Is Praia da Rua 37 wheelchair accessible?

Yes. It’s part of the Praia Acessível programme, with access to the sand and sea and amphibious chairs. The neighbouring Praia Azul also has volunteers to help.

Is Espinho beach good for toddlers?

The sand is wide and flat and the boardwalk helps with buggies, but the sea has Atlantic waves. Keep toddlers at the edge with an adult.

Are dogs allowed on Espinho beaches?

Not on supervised beaches during the bathing season, except certified assistance dogs.