A day in Setúbal – is it worth it?

Is it worth to spend a day in Setúbal? You may ask yourself while planning your day trips in Portugal.

In today’s post, I’m sharing with you some reasons why you should consider adding Setúbal to your itinerary, or if you are Portuguese, then consider it as a great city to spend a day with your family!

Of course, all this while I’m sharing my own personal stories from the last time I spent a day in Setúbal. I hope you like it and let’s go to visit Setúbal!

Where is Setúbal?

Setúbal is a city, and municipality, a little over 50km south of Lisbon. Famous for its magnificent beaches with clear blue waters, light sands, surrounded by a Natural Park and hometown of some famous Portuguese people. Oh, and with a strong connection to the river Sado, where quite some dolphin families call home.

For all wine enthusiasts, Moscatel de Setúbal is probably one of the most well-known wines. However, there are many more wines worth trying.

 

A bit of Setúbal’s history

Setúbal was recognized as a city on September 15, 1860, by King Pedro V of Portugal. In the early years of the 20th century, Setúbal played a very important role in the Portuguese economy, due to its high influence in fishing industries at that time.

Today, Setúbal is mostly known for its beaches, its close proximity to the Tróia peninsula, and all things Nature related – the Natural Park of Arrábida or the dolphins that live in the Sado river.

 

If you don’t have time to keep reading this post, then Pin it for later 😉

 

How to get to Setúbal

By car, Setúbal is less than 1h away from Lisbon which makes it another great contender to spend a day, in case you are staying in the Lisbon area.

If you do decide to go to Setúbal by car, then you need to take the A2 + A12 motorways if you are coming from the west part of Lisbon; this means you’ll be crossing the Tagus river on the 25 de Abril Bridge (the “twin sister” of the Golde Gate Bridge in San Francisco)

Should you be in the east part of Lisbon, where the Oriente area is – for example, then you will cross the Tagus river on the Vasco da Gama bridge and from there you take the A12 motorway.

But, there is another way to get to Setúbal, and probably a bit more relaxed. And that is by train.

This can be a pretty cool experience since the train will ride on the lower deck of the 25 de Abril bridge! For timetables and ticket prices, please consult the Fertagus website.

Note: Be aware that some tolls may be charged, especially on your way back to Lisbon.

 

 

Must-sees when in Setúbal for a day

As I mention above, Setúbal is a city with a strong connection to the sea (or river to be more specific), so it comes with no surprises that many of the highlights are related to that as well.

Luísa Todi avenue – Avenida Luísa Todi

Setúbal’s main avenue is named after Luísa Todi, was a Portuguese (born in Setúbal) popular mezzo-soprano, and it makes the perfect place for an afternoon walk. It’s quite a long avenue and it will lead you to many of Setúbal’s main attractions.

Fort of São Filipe – Forte de São Filipe

Located just about 1km from Setúbal’s center (please read my Personal Notes below, for a fun story!) will give you a spectacular view of Sado’s river and Troia bay. The Fort is named after the king that ordered its construction, Filipe I of Portugal (and II of Spain…) back in 1590. A place to appreciate the views, snap some amazing shots and relax.

Livramento’s Market – Mercado do Livramento

Want to have the ultimate local’s experience? Then this is the place to go! Oh, and if you get hungry, you might be at the right spot! Its opening hours are from 7h0 to 14h, Tuesday to Sunday.

 

 

Setúbal’s bay –  Baía de Setúbal

Oh and I should add the Docs! Here you can see the fishermen loading/unloading their boats. It’s a pretty cool experience to see how they handle the fish and prep it to go to the markets.

House of Baía – Casa da Baía

Here you can learn all things related to nature in Setúbal’s bay, not only flora but also the animals living there. That includes dolphins!! It’s very interesting.

Make sure to bring your kids there, they will love it.

Bocage’s statue – Estátua do Bocage

Bocage, or Manuel Maria Barbosa l’Hedois du Bocage (1765 – 1805), one of the great Portuguese Poets and born in Setúbal, so it is no surprise that the city paid him homage by rising a statue in his honor right at the heart of the city.

Bonus: Wine Tasting

Remember that I mentioned Moscatel wine at the very beginning of the post? Well, I’ve got news for you: there are more great wines coming from the region of Setúbal. You could perhaps book a wine tasting experience at some of these Wineries in the area of Setúbal:

Bacalhôa  //  Casa Ermelinda Freitas  //  Jose Maria da Fonseca

 

And of course, just enjoy the old downtown of Setúbal, which is filled with charming streets, where locals roam and where buildings remind you of candy. Ok, at least they did to me! haha

 

Setúbal during Summer

If you are planning to spend a day in Setúbal during the summer months, then I highly recommend you go visit some of the amazing beaches in the Setúbal bay area:

• Portinho da Arrábida – one of my favorite beaches
• Praia de Galapinhos
• Figueirinha
• Tróia – for this one, you need to take a ferry.
• Comporta – not in the Setúbal bay area but not far and a super nice beach!

Personal Note

Setúbal was the first place I went visiting, once I set foot in Portugal, after a 6-month break (you know, Covid-19…). Okay, not the very same day, but a couple of days later.

There was no specific plan, except to go visit the Fort of São Filipe, have a drink there, enjoy the sunset and that would be all. Why? Why didn’t I plan to visit all the places I mentioned in this post, you may wonder?

Honestly, I did not think of it! In the back of my mind, it’s almost like Setúbal has nothing to visit, which could not be farther from the truth. It has plenty to visit!!

But anyway, back to the Fort. Now, as goo Portuguese, we drove towards the Fort, not knowing exactly how to get there but why the mindset of “oh, it can’t be complicated! will not miss it for sure”… haha Well, that was not the case.

We drove by the Fort, missed it completely, and were wondering “how did this happen?” Oh, and yes, we had Google maps on! LOL Eventually, we found the Fort, to just realize that it was close for renovations! Bingo!!! haha

Note to anyone reading this:

Always check the opening hours of the places you intend to visit. I’ll try to remember this as well! haha

 

 

So at that point, we just figured it would be a pity to just leave. And instead, it was decided to go enjoy Setúbal’s downtown, and guys, this was a really good decision! I really enjoyed the old city center and its gorgeous buildings and details.

Even if you don’t know what to visit in Setúbal, one thing is for sure: if you like to eat fish, you just got to the right place!

Long story short: add Setúbal to your to-visit list for next time you are in Portugal. Or if you are Portuguese but never been there, then go on, and pay it a visit!  Setúbal is a great city to spend a day in.

 

Is it worth visiting Setúbal for a day?

Yes! I think it is worthing visiting and spend a day in Setúbal, regardless of the season. There is plenty to visit, local food and wines are great, and if you are planning a visit in the Summer: the beach in Setúbal is great!

 

And that was it for today’s post about Setúbal. I hope you liked it and that these tips for things you can do in Setúbal can be useful when you go pay a visit.

If you ever been to Setúbal let me know in the comments, what are your favorite places in town? Oh, share with us

 

See you next week!