Fishermen’s district – Bairro dos Pescadores

After we managed to convince the kids to leave the wooden boats, we set to explore the fishermen’s district.

It’s difficult to say where exactly the fishermen’s district of Nazaré begins or ends. According to our guide book it’s several blocks of narrow streets with white little houses between Praca Manuel de Arriaga and Avenida Vieira Guimares. It’s a really nice area to ‘get lost’ and explore more. The fishermen’s district has a very local feel and the houses are built so close to one another that it makes you feel a bit like an intruder. Barefoot kids playing soccer, laundry flapping in the wind, men mending fish nets, and older people sitting on benches and catching up on the latest gossip – this is the more authentic Nazaré that you find in the back streets, just a few steps from the more tourist-oriented seaside promenade.

While Nazaré beach feels very lively and is a bit touristy, the fishermen’s district is a place that feels like it hasn’t changed in a hundred years. It looks like time stood still here and it’s easy to imagine the little fishermen’s village that Nazaré once was.

You will definitely run into some locals here and it’s remarkable that all the ladies are wearing traditional clothing. You can’t really miss it. Old ladies wear black shirts and short colourful skirts with seven petticoats in combination with a woollen cape, an apron, and house slippers. While some gentlemen can be seen in checkered pants and traditional woollen caps reaching their shoulders. It is quite an unusual sight. And no, it doesn’t look like they wear the traditional clothing only for the sake of tourists and that’s just one of the charms of exploring authentic Nazaré.

TIP: If you come on a Friday, you’ll find a local market at the fishermen’s district. And on Saturdays in summer you can watch the fascinating Drag Nets (Arte Xávega) spectacle. In the late afternoon local fishermen arrive from sea with nets laden with fish, followed by local women screaming out their wares for sale. It’s apparently quite a spectacle, so might be fun to watch if you are visiting in high season.