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Useful information |
Other opinions
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Check your bills
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I love Nazare. That's why I'm always available to forgive everything, but sometimes it's too much, even for me. In May 1st, Fernanda and I went to have lunch in Nazare. She wished to eat "cataplana", so we checked "A Taberna da Adelia" where we once saw a beautiful cataplana. Very popular (see my other tips) the line of people waiting was enormous. We tried São Miguel (reserved for a big group), Bartidor (no cataplana and big line), Casalinho (the most popular, but where once I caught an intoxication with a |
a grilled shrimp, and since then stopped being one of my choices) and "A Lota" (where, once, a waiter tried to sell me twice the same oxidized bottle of wine).
All full. The shortest line was in "Mar Bravo", a well located restaurant with medium service at top price. Now the scene:
After staring 15 minutes facing three empty tables in the esplanade, we sat inside and ordered a fish soup, a lobster cataplana, one 7 UP and BSE wine.
Ten minutes later the waiter asked us to confirm the drinks: water, and Murganheira wine. We corrected him, and some minutes later he came, with the 7 UP and... the Murganheira.
New correction, and the right drinks came, to join us in a long wait (almost one hour) for the food.
The cataplana, at last (the soup was... forgotten), was OK. Time for the bill - heavy, as expected, and... surprise, the forgotten fish soup was there, also with cheese, probably delicious, but that we never saw or asked for.
A delicate and prompt correction, with excuses, and... it's done. The three empty tables that we saw on entering continued empty... all the time, but the lines, in mid afternoon were shorter.
My god! Is it so hard to be professional?
Well... I told you. That´s Nazare, and I'm always available to forgive everything. Yes... be patient, and check your bills.
All full. The shortest line was in "Mar Bravo", a well located restaurant with medium service at top price. Now the scene:
After staring 15 minutes facing three empty tables in the esplanade, we sat inside and ordered a fish soup, a lobster cataplana, one 7 UP and BSE wine.
Ten minutes later the waiter asked us to confirm the drinks: water, and Murganheira wine. We corrected him, and some minutes later he came, with the 7 UP and... the Murganheira.
New correction, and the right drinks came, to join us in a long wait (almost one hour) for the food.
The cataplana, at last (the soup was... forgotten), was OK. Time for the bill - heavy, as expected, and... surprise, the forgotten fish soup was there, also with cheese, probably delicious, but that we never saw or asked for.
A delicate and prompt correction, with excuses, and... it's done. The three empty tables that we saw on entering continued empty... all the time, but the lines, in mid afternoon were shorter.
My god! Is it so hard to be professional?
Well... I told you. That´s Nazare, and I'm always available to forgive everything. Yes... be patient, and check your bills.
The Lift
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Parking in Nazaré is a nightmare. Finding a place in a restaurant in August is an adventure. There's an old trick that keeps working: Go up to Sítio, where parking is not so difficult and the restaurants are not so crowded. If you decide to go to the beach, n 5 minutes of descent you're in the middle of everything. |
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And so, you may appreciate one of the highlights of Nazaré, more than 100 years old.
This summer I decided to park in Sitio, and use the lift to descend to the beach.
My God! I forgot we were in August!
The line was so long that we went back ant took the car down, to park... far... far... in the south.
This summer I decided to park in Sitio, and use the lift to descend to the beach.
My God! I forgot we were in August!
The line was so long that we went back ant took the car down, to park... far... far... in the south.
Summer crowds
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Bathing, circulating or only staying under the sun is complicated in summer days.
The beach has always many resident dwellers from July to mid September, but in Sundays and holidays it may become a nightmare. That would be the best time to try the nearby wild beaches (tricky parking) or to explore inland the wonders that surround Nazaré - Alcobaça, Batalha, Óbidos and more. However, if you may visit out of peek season, spring and fall, allow great days in the beach (with the water as cold as in summer...). 
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Lodging in Nazaré
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The most common
It's a tradition in Nazaré! By the end of June most locals pile with family, or move to secondary houses, to free their main houses to tourism. I think that more than 80% of tourists from July to September, use this solution, renting a house or room from the many women in the walkways, showing a typical announcement "Quartos-Chambres-Room-Zimmer", in a tight network that passes from one to the others the needs of each family seeking for lodging. You will be invited to see a house, and if business fails, you will move a few meters apart, where the same woman or a new one has another offer to make.It is not cheap, but is is cheaper than regular hotels or even hostels. Of course, many houses are old, with tiny rooms, some of them giving the idea that we must sleep standing, because there will be no space for furniture. |
Bargaining is almost mandatory, but margins, generally, will not exceed 20 or 25%.
Local authorities are now trying to get some control (and fiscal income) from this market, ordering previous registration, but, though you may find some offers in the many rental sites, street approach keep being the main way to make business, some of them not so controlled as wished.
Local authorities are now trying to get some control (and fiscal income) from this market, ordering previous registration, but, though you may find some offers in the many rental sites, street approach keep being the main way to make business, some of them not so controlled as wished.