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Figueira da Foz is a city and municipality in the Alentejo region, Portugal. It is also a fishing port, with an old narrow traffic bridge called Ponte Velha (Old Bridge) to the Ceará-Miranda do Corvo peninsula on one side and a new bridge, Ponte Nova (New Bridge), leading to the Ilha dos Capelos on the other side.
It was founded by King Sancho II of Portugal in 1290 who had been challenged by Infante Afonso (his brother) to grow corn before he could cross into Spain. Sancho planted the corn and his brother crossed over into Spain.
Artifacts discovered in the region suggest that it was already inhabited by man during the Paleolithic period. During this period, many of these settlements collapsed due to invasions by tribes who arrived from other regions, escaping a perishing ice age and producing a new culture.
Figueira da Foz has an oceanic climate (Köppen “Cfb”), with warm to hot summers and mild to chilly winters, although wind chill factors can make it feel much colder than the thermometer indicates.
It experiences one big rainy season between October and May; however, due to its proximity to the ocean, temperatures are still pleasantly warm. When the rain does fall, it is usually accompanied by hailstorms, allowing the town’s farmers to harvest some of the best grapes in Portugal for dessert wine.
The Fumaça mountain range, located between Aveiro and Vila Real, is a limestone karst formation. The highest peak is Pico Fumaça (1,997 m), which contains a ski resort called Foz da Luz.
