Shopping & food
RESTAURANTS
As everywhere in Portugal, there is no shortage of cafés and restaurants in the centre of Branca. The restaurant closest to our house can be reached on foot in 10 minutes. It is called “Krocante” and is located on the IC 2 (national road). You currently pay around 8,50 € per person for a meal including soup, main dish, bread, dessert, a drink and coffee. The restaurant is closed on Sundays.
To the left of the “Krocante” there is a pub called “A Cave”, where you can enjoy a daytime meal for a more expensive menu price. In the evening you can eat tapas, ham and cheese there.
In the restaurant “Canto Novo” they serve specially meat dishes.
If you drive up the hill to the left before the church, you will reach the popular restaurant “Estêvão” restaurant through the forest in the Palhal district.
The “Casa Azevedo”, about 6 kilometres away in Palmaz, is also popular.
The restaurant “El Pata Negra” can be found in Ul, Oliveira de Azeméis.
There are many other restaurants in the area, including Albergaria-a-Velha, Albergaria-a-Nova, Pinheiro de Bemposta, Oliveira de Azeméis.
TAKE AWAY
Many guests choose to pick up food, especially at the take-away “Tacho Pronto”,
2 km from our house.
BAKERIES and CAFÉS.
The nearest bakery (1 km) is “Padroeiro S. Vicente”. It also has a café.
If you continue on IC 2 in the direction of Albergaria-a-Nova or Albergaria-a-Velha, you will find the “Ceifeira” bakery on the right-hand side.
The “Villa” bakery is about 3 km from us.
POST OFFICE
The post office is in the municipal administration building. You can check the opening hours on the Internet at Ponto CTT Branca Albergaria-a-Velha.
SHOPS
Everything you need for daily life can be found on the national road: Shops, banks, pharmacies, etc.
For small purchases and when you need something quick, you can find almost everything you need for groceries and toiletries at Dona Fátima, which has a small shop about 500 meters away at Rua Quinta dos Alferes 19.
In the small supermarket “Descontão” you will find a wide range of groceries.
The supermarket “Pingo Doce” is in Albergaria-a-Velha, about 5 km to the South.
About 5 kilometres to the North, in Pinheiro de Bemposta, there is a large supermarket called “Continente Bom Dia“.
There is a LIDL supermarket in Oliveira de Azemeis and in São João da Madeira (heading north).
There is a nice shopping centre, called “Oitava Avenida” at the entrance to São João da Madeira, 15 km away at Avenida Dr. Renato Araújo 1625, 3700-346 S. João da Madeira.
On the same road, at Avenida Dr. Renato Araújo 1976 in São João da Madeira, there is the supermarket ALDI.
Journeys
From Chaque, Branca you can explore the wholenorthern Portugal in single day trips. The place is located 50 km from Porto (1) and 67 km from Coimbra (2), both of which are big cities of great beauty and historical significance. We can also recommend a visit to the city of Aveiro (3) (25 km, and in the west of Aveiro there is Costa Nova with a lake and ocean beach. Other interesting exursions could be Curia, Luso and Buçaco be (approx. 40 km), Santa Maria da Feira, with its famous medieval fair in July or August, Arouca, Espinho (4) with a beautiful beach and very long beach promenade) and the casino. Espinho has a very nice pedestrian zone. On Mondays there is a big market in Espinho. As there are new highways, also day trips into the wider environment are possible: in the south the environment of Coimbra, Fatima, Batalha, Nazare, Alcobaça. To the north and northeast passing over Porto: Guimarães (5) (European Capital of Culture in 2012, highly recommended), Braga (6), Viana do Castelo (7), the Douro River till Lamego. Boat trips on the River Douro from Porto to Régua are very beautiful. Nature-loving people can visit Serra da Freita (8) (30 km) and enjoy the beautiful stone scenery, clear, clean stream and the waterfall Mijarela on the mountain. On the way to the Serra da Freita, you can enjoy a stunning panoramic view over wooded mountain ranges. The possibilities to interesting sightseeings in Porto and Coimbra are immense. An evening stroll in Porto, for example, along the river – in the Foz district – is highly recommended. Nearby there is “Sea Life”, an deep sea aquarium which is worth seeing. Some of our guests have not shied away to make a day trip to Lisbon (280 km). Since Portugal is a small country with a great history, you will find historical sights closely packed.
Beaches:
The beaches of northern Portugal – Silver Coast – include: Espinho, Esmoriz, Costa Nova, Torreira, São Jacinto. Although Torreira is the nearest beach (about 30 km), you can reach even faster – in about a half an hour by car, largely on the highway – the beaches of Espinho and Esmoriz. The special attraction of Torreira as well as Costa Nova is the location between the ocean on one side and the lake Ria. In the summer, the beaches or even are heavily visited. People who prefer to have more calmness, should avoid such trips on weekends.
Tennis and Golf:
You have the opportunity to play golf in Páramos, in the south of Espinho. In Espinho and in Albergaria-a-Velha, there are also tennis courts.
