Leiria  is a city and a municipality in the Centro Region of Portugal and in the historical province of Beira Litoral. It is the capital of Leiria District.  It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Leiria-Fátima.

Geography and location

Leiria is located in the Centro Region and sub region of Pinhal Litoral, about halfway between Lisbon and Porto. The historic city centre spreads between the castle hill and the river Lis.

Leiria is also included in the Região de Leiria. As the main city in this community, the area of influence of Leiria spreads over the cities of Marinha Grande, Ourém, Fátima, Pombal as well the municipalities/town seats of Batalha and Porto de Mós located nearby.

Climate

The city of Leiria is located near the western coast, in central Portugal, with a mainly Mediterranean climate (Csb) but with significant Atlantic influence. Because of this, winters are mild and wet and summers are dry and warm.

It has mild and wet winters, relying on average 45 days of rain (312 mm) versus 45 dry days and 5 hours of sun per day.

Snowfalls in the city of Leiria typically occur once every 20 to 30 years.

Culture

In addition to being a site of historical interest, the castle of Leiria provides a venue for cultural events. Nearby is the Church of Saint Peter (Igreja de São Pedro), the site of the city’s annual music festival. Leiria is home to the Museu da imagem em movimento (Museum of the Moving Image) as well as Portugal’s restored first paper mill, Moinho do Papel (The Paper Mill), the Theatre Miguel Franco in the Mercado de Sant’Ana (Saint Anne’s Market) and the Theatre José Lúcio da Silva are venues for theatrical, musical, cinematic and dance performances.

Today the central square, Praça Francisco Rodrigues Lobo, named after the Portuguese poet Francisco Rodrigues Lobo, is home to a thriving café culture, regularly used for cultural events. The city was the principal residence of the Portuguese king, Denis, who wrote lyric poetry in the troubadour tradition, and the birthplace of the modern realist writer Eça de Queiroz, whose first novel, O Crime do Padre Amaro (“Father Amaro’s Sin”), published in 1875, is set in the city.

In October 2012, Leiria opened the city’s “Centro Cívico”, a modern architecture building, designed to have social impact on the community. This building has the life of Eça de Queiroz as a theme. In here, there’s senior classes and Associação Fazer Avançar runs SPEAK, with support from EDP and Calouste Gulbenkian Fundations, among others.

The city has several cultural entities like Leiria’s Public Library Afonso Lopes Vieira, Arquivo, Ateneu, Leirena and O Nariz (theatre groups), Associação Fazer Avançar, FADE IN, Metamorfose, ECO and many others that make Leiria a culturally vibrant city, offering the busiest calendars of events.

In recent years, Leiria has seen much redevelopment on the banks of the river Liz, with the creation of several new parks, public spaces, children’s play areas and a series of themed bridges. A long riverside promenade was built which is popular with walkers and joggers.

Since 2010, Associação FADE IN organizes ENTREMURALHAS, one of the most important gothic festivals in the world (List of gothic festivals).

Gastronomy

Leiria’s gastronomy offers a good variety of Portuguese dishes including fresh fish dishes and the famous “Leitão” da Boavista (barbecued piglet/ suckling pig). The nearby village of Cortes is known for “Migas“, a dish of corn bread with spinach, garlic and olive oil which is eaten as an accompaniment to fish or meat.

Typical Dishes: Morcela de Arroz; Negritos; Lentriscas; Bacalhoada com migas; Bacalhau com feijão frade; Ossinhos; Fritada; Cabrito; Feijoada; Leitão; Chanfana; Fritada dos peixinhos; Bacalhau com Chícharos.

Traditional sweet pastry: Brisas do Lis; Lampreia de Ovos; Ovos Folhados; Bolinhos de Pinhão; Tarte de Chícharos (Alvaiázere); Canudos de Leiria; Doce de amêndoa; Broas Doces de Batata; Merendeiras dos Santos; Filhós de abóbora.

Wines of the region : Caves Vidigal, S.A./ Vale da Mata, Cortes / Quinta da Serrinha (Vin Bio), Barreira / Santos & Santos, Torres Vedras / Quinta da Sapeira, Serra d’Aire / Paço Côrtes, Lda. IGP Lisboa, Sub-região Alta Estremadura. These wines are labeled D.O.C. (Denominação de Origem Controlada) which secures a superior quality. Also parte of the Portuguese wine region Encostas de Aire (DOC).

Economy

Leiria has an economy concentrated on services and light industries. It has several industries related with plastics and moulds, as well as animal food, milling, cement, and civil construction, among other light industries. Agriculture, tourism, and state-run public services, such as education (including the Polytechnical Institute of Leiria), health (the district hospital Hospital de Santo André) and general public administration, are an important part of Leiria’s economy.

Monte Real Air Base, a major Military airbase of the Portuguese Air Force in Monte Real, where all Portuguese F16 fighter squadrons are stationed, is also notable employer in the region. Gothic gallery in the Castle of Leiria.

Transport

Leiria is connected to its suburbs and the rest of Portugal by a motorway network. There are four motorways passing the city;

• A1 – Auto-estrada do Norte linking Porto to Lisbon, passing by Leiria.
• A8 linking Leiria to Lisbon.
• A17 linking Marinha Grande to Aveiro.
• A19, linking Leiria and Batalha, using part of the IC2.

There is a railway Linha do Oeste (west railway line linking Cacém (Sintra/Lisbon area) to Figueira da Foz) which serves the central western coast of Portugal. Leiria railway station is a few km from the city centre (about 2 km).

The main bus station service is in the city centre. The bus service, called Mobilis, is composed by 9 lines connecting surrounding neighbourhoods and parishes of Leiria with the city centre. This includes two bus loops and a specific line (uMob) that connects the city centre with Campus 1 and 2 of the Instituto Politécnico de Leiria.

There is a small airfield (Aérodromo de Leiria), used for sports and recreation.

Leiria-based newspapers

• Região de Leiria – Weekly
• Jornal de Leiria – Weekly
• Diário de Leiria – Daily
• O Mensageiro – Monthly

Education

Leiria hosts a national public polytechnic institution of higher education, the Instituto Politécnico de Leiria which has 5 campuses, 3 of them located in Leiria.

• Campus 1 – School of Education and Social Sciences (ESECS).
• Campus 2 – School of Technology and Management (ESTG) and the School Of Health Sciences (ESS)
• Campus 5 – Institute for Research, Development and Advanced Studies (INDEA), the Training Centre for the Courses of Technology Specialization (FOR.CET) with around 900 students, the Centre of New Opportunities (CNO), a Transfer Technology and Information Center (OTIC) and an E-Learning Unit (UED).

There is also a private institution, o Instituto Superior de Línguas e Administração (ISLA).

In Secondary education, Leiria has the following schools, the first two in the center, the last in the outskirts.

• Escola Secundária de Francisco Rodrigues Lobo (former Liceu)
• Escola Secundária de Domingos Sequeira (former Escola Comercial)^[
• Escola Secundária de Afonso Lopes Vieira, in Gândara dos Olivais, Marrazes.

In Primary education, Leiria has the following schools, teaching from the 5th grade until 9th grade.

• Escola D. Dinis
• Escola Correia Mateus (with 1st cycle)
• Escola José Saraiva
• Escola de Marrazes
• Colégio Dinis de Melo
• Colégio Senhor dos Milagres

Besides this there are multiple schools in the Municipality for the 1st cycle, from 1st grade until 4th grade.