Espinho - Portugal?

Question

Has anyone ever been to Espinho in north Portugal. I'm going in July and am looking for information such as what the weather is like and what the nightlife and beaches are like.. any help would be greatly appreciated! :-)

Answer 1

I wonder why you are going to Espinho, instead of Porto.
I can tell you the weather in Portugal (especially that area) at the moment is quite unpredictable, one day is very hot, on the following day is raining cats and dogs.
Nightlife is not bad, you have some bars which are nice and you can always go to Esmoriz if you don't like Espinho. I used to go to the beach in Espinho, and quite frankly I didn't like it very much, the water is cold, quite windy. There's a market on Mondays, if you like this kind of stuff, then you are in the right place, if not avoid it like the plague.
However, I recommend you to go to Porto, as nightlife (bars, caffes, discos) there is much better, you have a lot to see and do. If you are interested in sun and beaches... well, you are in the wrong part of the country, you should go south (Algarve and Alentejo's coast) instead of north.
As you are going to the north of Portugal, I recommend you to visit some other places, such as: Porto, V.N.Gaia and its wine cellars, Santa Maria da Feira and if you are lucky you can participate on their medieval festival, Guimaraes which was the place where Portugal as a nation started, etc.
Make sure to make the best of your stay by eating traditional food (caldo verde, francesinha, rojoes, sarrabulho, bifanas, fresh fish - bear in mind to ask for chips instead of boiled potatoes, they always serve fish with boiled potatoes, -etc) and Portuguese wine, as it is one of the best in the world.
Portugal is a lovely country with a lot of things to see and do.
Have fun in there!

EDIT: I am Portuguese and I speak with my mother and sister, who live in Porto (not very far from Espinho only 20 -25 km apart) everyday, and they tell me that the weather is very unpredictable now in that area; in fact two to three weeks ago it rained a lot, almost everyday, however in these last few days it has been very hot, I've checked the weather on the internet, and the forecast is sunny for the next 3 days, with temperatures between 10 to 22 degrees, but it will be worst for the weekend. Who knows maybe July won't be as wet as it was in the beginning of June. (note that I am referring to the weather in Porto) Three years ago, I would say without a shadow of a doubt that it would be very hot with temperatures between 30 to 40 degrees and in some areas such as, Evora and Beja, the temperatures were 50 degrees. But in these last two years the climate changed a lot in Portugal... so as I said the weather is quite unpredictable at the moment.
In Viseu (which is a town that I know very well, because I spend holidays there every year as my eldest sister lives there) is very hot now, because it is a town in the interior of Portugal. The weather in the North, especially close to the Atlantic Ocean, which is the case of Porto and Espinho is colder and more aggressive than in the rest of the country. Praia da Mira and Figueira da Foz (don't know Praia da Torcha) they are closer to Aveiro than they are to Espinho, and I must say they are more pleasant than the ones in Espinho. But if you don't have your own transport don't even think going there, because public transports in Portugal suck... Believe me, I know!

Answer 2

Portugal in the North is very hot! And to the comment above, it does NOT rain in July in that area of Portugal. I spent a month in Portugal in July near Viseu and not once did it rain. If it did, it would ruin the grapes for wine. That area is very hot, but not humid at all, as it is a dry heat. At night though it cools off nicely. I would suggest going to the big cities, like the comment above said, to Porto. There are many night clubs and bars and cafes that you could go, that are open late. Plus there are tons of restaurants and little shops I'm sure. For beaches, I've been to Praia da Torcha, Praia da Mira, and Figuiera da Foz. All three are beautiful, but the water may be cold since it's on the Atlantic. It might also be overcast as it was one day when I went. But still a good time. Have fun!!!

Answer 3

Hello !! First of all I hope you have a great time in our country :)
So, let's start with the weather
If you want to go to the beach, enjoy a really nice hot weather, South is the place for you ! Every year Algarve is full of British people and the ones that live in the cold countries in Europe. Night time there is really fun ! Theres tonsssssss of bars and clubs for you to go, and you should consider staying in Vilamoura, its in Algarve as well, but in my opinion is one of the most beautiful places to spend holidays (look it up :)
Portugal is more like a traditional country, you can see lots of markets and traditional festivals, typical architecture, amazingggggg restaurants (the food is actually pretty good haha)
but as the first comment said, Porto is a great place to spend holidays too, however i highly recommend Algarve, thats where everyone goes, and theres great hotels, resorts, ....

You can look up the north, centre and south cities, theres many things you can do ! And as the country is not that big, you wont have any trouble to go from south to centre or even south !

Hope you like it !!

Answer 4

Espinho is a splendid seaside town within commuting distance of Porto. It's also a popular get-away spot with a picturesque esplanade along the waterfront.

Search for Porto info, it's in the neighborhood!