Passport and Visa
Authors and attendees outside the EU are advised to arrange their Visas the soonest possible.
Find all the information regarding visas for traveling to Portugal in the following link:
How to reach Fundão and Covilhã
The nearest airports are Lisbon and Porto (also known as “Oporto”).
After arriving:
- Lisbon:
- Take the direct train from “Lisboa – Oriente” to Fundão / Covilhã (departing at 8:23 AM, 1:23 PM and 7:23 PM);
- Tickets at www.cp.pt
- Take the direct bus from “Lisboa – Sete Rios” to Fundão / Covilhã (departing at 8:00 AM, 9:50 AM and 4:30 PM);
- Tickets at www.rede-expressos.pt
- Rent a car at www.rentalcars.com/pt/airport/pt/lis ;
- Lisbon has Uber, Taxify and similar;
- Lisbon has a very good taxi system.
- Take the direct train from “Lisboa – Oriente” to Fundão / Covilhã (departing at 8:23 AM, 1:23 PM and 7:23 PM);
- Porto:
- There is no direct train from Porto to Fundão / Covilhã, unfortunately, due to railroad maintenance;
- Take the direct bus from Porto to Fundão / Covilhã (departing at 8:30 AM and 6:15 PM);
- Tickets at www.rede-expressos.pt
- Rent a car at www.rentalcars.com/pt/airport/pt/lis ;
- Porto has Uber, Taxify and similar;
- Porto has a very good taxi system.
Tips and useful info
The legal tender used in Portugal is the euro. If you are traveling from a country outside the eurozone, you will have to change money by showing your passport at a number of exchange offices located in tourist areas in Lisbon and/or Porto. Bear in mind that shops and restaurants do not accept payment in any other currency.
The voltage in Portugal is a 220-volt alternate current and 50 Hz. Plugs have two round prongs the same as in all Europe.
If you are coming from the UK, you might want to bring an adapter with you. Visitors from the USA will also require a voltage converter.
What to do/visit in Fundão
Tourism Nature
Tourism is one of the potentialities of the municipality of Fundão. The Serra da Gardunha as the main natural element of the county, besides the unique landscape that awakens, is at the heart of a varied tourist offer that combines visitation programs to the most relevant assets of the county, with the history, traditions, and identity of the county. Of particular note are the historic village of Castelo Novo, the Shanty Villages of Janeiro de Cima and Barroca, the network of Theme Houses scattered throughout the county, Moagem in the city of Fundão as a cultural equipment of excellence, the Municipal Archaeological Museum some of the most important finds of the country, the Palace of the Picadeiro as the seat of the Transhumance Route, associated with an immense culture of popular traditions combined with a truly unique gastronomy, always respecting what the county has of the most authentic.
Footpaths
There are 12 pedestrian paths created in the Serra da Gardunha for a total of 140 km. They are small routes that can be covered on foot in just one day (less than 30 km). They are traced along several paths and tracks of the Serra da Gardunha, providing the observation of the fauna and flora existing in the mountains and the observation of the landscape.
Cycling and Segway
There are 11 routes that extend for more than 120 km between the city of Fundão and the entire Serra da Gardunha and at the same time can be traveled through off-road segways. Next, to the Campão do Fundão has located a mountain bike center in the heart of an Adventure Park where it is possible to go through a circuit of maintenance, to practice arborism, among others.
Shale Villages
Fundão is part of the Schist Villages network, a regional development project, led by the ADXTUR – Agency for Tourism Development of Shale Villages, in partnership with 21 Municipalities of the Central Region and with about 100 private operators who operate in the territory. There are 27 Shale Villages distributed throughout the Center Region, two in the municipality of Fundão (January of Cima and Barroca), highlighted by the presentation of products, services, and professionals of excellence, in gastronomic production, handicrafts, singular housing and animation cultural. Here you will find land products, canoeing trails, mountain biking, and trekking circuits, pure water river beaches, monuments, castles and museums to see.
Historical Villages
The network of Historic Villages is composed of ten former urban settlements with a foundation prior to the Portuguese nation, of great historical importance. They stand normally in highlands since they constituted centers of defense of the populations that settled there, even before the Roman denomination. The Historic Village of Castelo Novo, fully recovered and reclassified, is thus a very important tourist asset for the county of Fundão. Its location is privileged and it is two minutes from the A23, being the historical Village closest to the greater Lisbon area.
Snow Tourism
At 45 minutes from Fundão you will find the highest mountain in the mainland, Serra da Estrela, a place to explore at any time of the year, with mild temperatures in the summer, ideal for walks and walks, and in winter is the ideal destination for who likes the practice of skiing and snowboarding and all kind of winter sports.
Houses of the Forest
The Rede de Casas da Floresta includes the Casa do Mel (Bogas de Cima), Casa do Mushroom (Malhada Velha), Casa do Bombo (Lavacolhos), Casa das Tecedeiras (Jan de Cima) and Casa Redonda of Cima) and the Casa Grande (Baroque). All themed, pedagogical and tourist, but essentially created to preserve traditions and ways to produce high-quality crafts. In terms of tourism, the Casas da Floresta has structured a network of themed tours through knowledge and tastes. They are connected by ten thematic circuits, road and pedestrian, and also by the Shale Path of Baroque. And they are in the vicinity of other attractions and attractions, such as the Schist Villages, the River Beaches, the Rock Art, the River Zêzere itself, the Mining Heritage among others. All information at http://www.pinusverde.pt/
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————
All this information and more can be found at www.cm-fundao.pt and tourism websites.
You can also ask the organizer committee at sb.ubi@ieee.org.