| Peniche | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — Municipality — | |||
|
|||
| Location in Portugal | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Portugal | ||
| Region | Centro | ||
| Subregion | Oeste | ||
| District/A.R. | Leiria | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | António Santos (CDU) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 78.0 km2 (30.1 sq mi) | ||
| Population | |||
| • Total | 28,164 | ||
| • Density | 358/km2 (927.2/sq mi) | ||
| Parishes (no.) | 6 | ||
| Municipal holiday | Monday after the 1st Sunday of August | ||
| Website | http://www.cm-peniche.pt | ||
Peniche (Portuguese pronunciation: [pɨˈniʃ(ɨ)]) is a seaside municipality and a city in Portugal, with approximately 28,164 inhabitants in the municipality and about 15,600 in the city of Peniche.
The present mayor is António Correia Santos, elected by the Unitarian Democratic Coalition.
It is composed of 6 parishes.
Contents |
The Berlengas islands are part of the municipality, off the coast of Peniche. They are one of the world's first protected areas, the Berlengas nature reserve. During summer, the islands can be visited by taking a ferryboat from Peniche.
Peniche is known for its long windy beaches, sought for recreational activities and sports such as surf, windsurf , Bodyboarding or kite surf. Peniche has very good waves. Supertubos is the most popular wave in the region, with very fast and powerful (tubular) waves, one of the best in Europe; some call it the "European Pipeline".
Peniche, with its typical harbour, its white windmills and chapels and large sand beaches has inspired famous artists like Maurice Boitel.
Since ancient times Peniche has been an important fishing harbour. Besides fisheries, the economy of Peniche municipality relies on agriculture, services and tourism.
Besides primary, secondary and vocational education, Peniche is home of a state-run polytechnic school of the Instituto Politécnico de Leiria, which through its Escola Superior de Turismo e Tecnologia do Mar de Peniche, awards academic degrees in marine technologies and tourism.
Peniche is one of the best surfing locations in Europe. It has beaches and breaks facing in 3 distinctly different directions making it a very variable and consistent destination for surfers. Home to many surf camps/schools and recently the destination for the WCT of the ASP (World championship tour of Association of surfing professionals) in time for the autumn swells.
|
|||||