VILA NOVA DE GAIA
41º 07' 48'' N; 8º 37' 12'' W
Gaia has and has always had a very strong connection to the neighboring city of Porto, not just for sharing the common heritage of Port Wine. In recent decades, due to economic growth and improved communications with the north bank of the Douro River, Vila Nova de Gaia has progressively welcomed people who work daily in Porto (mainly due to the construction of Metro do Porto, which stimulated and made these commuting movements between Gaia and Porto even more functional), as well as being a municipality where many citizens from the neighboring municipalities of the Metropolitan Area of Porto work and live, located just off the south bank of the Douro river, such as Espinho, Santa Maria da Feira, Arouca, São João da Madeira, Vale de Cambra or Oliveira de Azeméis. Gaia is a municipality of weekly residence, during weekdays, of many citizens of these municipalities who work in the urban space of Gaia or Porto or Matosinhos, due to the fact that the cost of housing is lower in Gaia. Being very close to Porto, Gaia is one of the most populous municipalities in the country.
Gaia, together with the neighboring municipalities of Porto and Matosinhos, forms the Porto Atlantic Front, which constitutes the most urbanized population nucleus of the Porto Metropolitan Area, located on the coast, bounded to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, with structural influence the estuary of the River Douro, which joins Gaia and Porto.
The municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia is subdivided into 15 parishes: Arcozelo; Avintes; Canelas; Canidelo; Grijó and Sermonde;
Gulpilhares and Valadares; Madalena; Mafamude and Vilar do Paraíso; Oliveira do Douro; Pedroso and Seixezelo;
Sandim, Olival, Lever and Crestuma;
Santa Marinha and São Pedro da Afurada; São Felix da Marinha;
Serzedo and Perosinho; Vilar do Andorinho.
Economy
Despite a large percentage of the resident population commuting to the neighboring municipality of Porto, Gaia has a great industrial tradition. There are companies of variable sizes in different areas such as ceramics, textiles, hardware, civil construction, whether they are suppliers or final processors.
In the 1990s, the city received two large commercial surfaces, which were important milestones in the municipality's development: Gaia Shopping and Arrábida Shopping. Recently, the El Corte Inglés chain also established itself in the parish of Mafamude, choosing the municipality for its second implementation in Portugal. All Portuguese banks have various representations in the municipality, including some agencies specializing in Private Banking. Avenida da República concentrates a significant part of the financial activity.
In the health area, the city is served by the Vila Nova de Gaia Hospital Center - Espinho, as well as by several clinics and analysis laboratories. The city also has the Hospital da Arrábida, one of the first private hospitals in the country.
Tourism
Beaches and coastline
Vila Nova de Gaia is known for its extensive coastal strip, with approximately 17 km of sand. Recently, the redevelopment of this entire area included the construction of a wooden walkway that allows traffic-free walking along the seafront, connecting Lavadores to Espinho beach. Among others, we find the beaches of Madalena, Valadares, Miramar, Aguda, and Granja.
Along the coast, there are several places of interest in addition to bathing activities, among which the Capela do Senhor da Pedra at Praia de Francelos in Gulpilhares, the fishing village of Aguda, and finally, the place of Granja, one of the most famous and old Portuguese seaside resorts.
Despite a large percentage of the resident population commuting to the neighboring municipality of Porto, Gaia has a great industrial tradition. There are companies of variable sizes in different areas such as ceramics, textiles, hardware, civil construction, whether they are suppliers or final processors.
In the 1990s, the city received two large commercial surfaces, which were important milestones in the municipality's development: Gaia Shopping and Arrábida Shopping. Recently, the El Corte Inglés chain also established itself in the parish of Mafamude, choosing the municipality for its second implementation in Portugal. All Portuguese banks have various representations in the municipality, including some agencies specializing in Private Banking. Avenida da República concentrates a significant part of the financial activity.
In the health area, the city is served by the Vila Nova de Gaia Hospital Center - Espinho, as well as by several clinics and analysis laboratories. The city also has the Hospital da Arrábida, one of the first private hospitals in the country.
Tourism
Beaches and coastline
Vila Nova de Gaia is known for its extensive coastal strip, with approximately 17 km of sand. Recently, the redevelopment of this entire area included the construction of a wooden walkway that allows traffic-free walking along the seafront, connecting Lavadores to Espinho beach. Among others, we find the beaches of Madalena, Valadares, Miramar, Aguda, and Granja.
Along the coast, there are several places of interest in addition to bathing activities, among which the Capela do Senhor da Pedra at Praia de Francelos in Gulpilhares, the fishing village of Aguda, and finally, the place of Granja, one of the most famous and old Portuguese seaside resorts.
Transport and communication routes
The city is served by Metro do Porto and STCP.
The CP (Trains of Portugal) has at the Devesas Railway Station one of its nerve points. All Alfa Pendular trains of the Northern line serve Vila Nova de Gaia from this stop. The county, in its entirety, is still served by several stations and stopovers. Of these, Granja, Aguda, Miramar, and Francelos have a significant peak of users during the bathing season, serving several beaches in the municipality.
Several highways can be found: A1, A29, A20, A32, A41, and A44, which closes the inner circular ring (VCI de Gaia) with the VCI do Porto. The A41, also known as IC24, is the outer ring road of the Metropolitan Area of Porto.
Francisco Sá Carneiro International Airport is located about 20 km away, with good access via the above-mentioned motorway network. The Port of Leixões is 15 km away.
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