Setúbal is a city, harbor, and peninsula at the heart of the Natural Park of Arrábida and the Sado Estuary Reserve, with its shores touching the Atlantic Ocean. Facing the Tróia Peninsula, about 45 km south of Lisbon, this estuary-city on Portugal's Costa Azul still holds onto its fishing traditions, with fishermen mending their nets along the docks.
Setúbal and the Tróia Peninsula. View from the medieval village of Palmela.
Setúbal City Center.
Setúbal Estuary.
A Beehive in Nature On a land of majestic beauty, where hundreds of thousands of protected hectares of natural wonders cover hills, surround medieval castles, and slide down slopes into pristine blue waters, Setúbal is alive—busy and thriving along its shores, anything but a quaint town.
Setúbal is real, with an active harbor, ten schools, eight museums, many independent businesses along its pedestrian streets, a giant hospital atop a green hill, and, in these December days, a joyful acceleration announcing Christmas.
Fresh Food Paradise Setúbal wakes early to feed its two giant fish and vegetable markets. Fishing boats unload their catch just as commuters board the Fertagus train to Lisbon. Few harbors still showcase such a vibrant fishing lifestyle. Yet, people in Setúbal seamlessly balance their duties with hospitality, warmly welcoming expats and tourists alike. If friendliness were measurable, its community would score high. It's also a human-sized community, Setúbal is home to around 100,000 residents.
Pioneering Canned Fish
The city has always been industrious—always on the move. It is the heartbeat of a region rich in character, history, and innovation, from its industrial pioneers in canned food to its cultural geniuses and adventurers. Setúbal has given Portugal the wit of one of its greatest poets, Bocage, the exploits of navigators like Diogo Fernandes, and, in this century, the undeniable style of Setúbal-born designer Luís Buchinho.
An Animal Kingdom
Setúbal Bay, where the Sado River meets the Atlantic, is a haven for wildlife. The river hosts a rare population of bottlenose dolphins, while the estuary attracts pink flamingos during the colder months. In 2006, more than 2,000 flamingos were recorded here, according to the Institute for Nature Conservation and Biodiversity (ICNB).
Arrábida Natural Park. Below, pink flamingoes in the Sado Estuary.
A Strategic Geography
Setúbal is the only sea link between Lisbon and the magnetic tongue of land that is the Tróia Peninsula. From its harbor, gaze at the slender sandy strip leading to Comporta and Melides, where luxury values are rewritten.
With its natural diversity and geography, it’s no surprise that Setúbal and its surroundings are under the real estate spotlight. On the list of top investments in Portugal for 2025, Setúbal stands alongside Aveiro, Santarém, and Évora. These urban hubs, each central to their territories, offer strategic growth and excellent market opportunities:
— Setúbal, south of Lisbon, Costa Azul | Arrábida — Évora, capital of Alto Alentejo — Santarém, capital of the Ribatejo — Aveiro, capital of Aveiro
These cities, along with their smaller towns and surroundings, are poised to attract continued investment in the new year, offering effective rental yields. Already established tourist hubs, they boast dynamism in tourism, tech investments, connectivity, and logistics. They align with the aspirations of both new generations and an aging population: sustainable living, green economies, fresh food, and direct access to nature. Unsurprisingly, all four cities are blessed with stunning, protected natural wealth.
Housing Aspiration Shifting
In Portugal, a social shift is evident. Post-industrial cities, burdened by dense architecture obstructing the sky and long, costly commutes jammed with traffic, may soon lose their appeal. For those with the luxury to work and enjoy leisure wherever they choose, these cities might gradually become relics of the past. Portugal’s stunning coastlines and preserved natural parks, smaller and active towns, traditional food-gathering culture that is mostly local, have become increasingly attractive—a trend steady since 2015.
If the first round of real estate developments was mostly encountered by expats who might have felt politically left down —people from the UK, Brazil, China, and the US after 2016, most have settled in Lisbon, Porto, and the Algarve. Soon came a second group of expats interested in affordable housing investment. Promptly categorized as ‘digital nomads’, it is a diverse population of mostly people in their 20 to 40s, granted choice in geography.
Digital nomads could follow their passions and match it to their budgets. Found nature lovers, birdwatchers, surfers as well as who embraces surf life along Sagres, Costa da Caparica, Ericeira, Peniche, and Nazaré. For whom still wishes to stay in close touch with Lisbon and car free, Setùbal, Barreiro and Seixal are excellent locations with their public transports and hourly ferry rides.
A Generation Pioneering Well-Being
With a sense of longevity rarely seen before and a focus on mental health as a key factor in balancing work and leisure, the generation aged 25 to 40 embraces habits distinctly different from the hyper-urban, countercultural Gen X or the affluent Boomers, who in 2022 favored sunny destinations like California, Florida, Arizona, or Nevada.
Setúbal, below, streets behind the docks.
Setúbal, South of Metropolitan Lisbon
Ask someone who’s lived in Brooklyn since the 2000s and rarely crosses the bridge to Manhattan these days—it’s a reminder of how Brooklyn, once Manhattan’s dorm, transformed into its own urban hub in just a decade. In Portugal, things evolve even faster. Word-of-mouth travels quicker with social media, and politics elsewhere keep getting worse.
In the near future, Seixal, Barreiro, Setúbal, and who lives along Costa Caparica will be building businesses and cafés, creating autonomous communities without the need to live in the capital.
Streets of Setúbal.
Housing and Social Movements
Setùbal, despite its hedonistic natural cradle has the edge of a city that has always been working. It’s not a chilled riviera but a place where down-to-earth entrepreneurs will love to draft and craft new ideas around people working in hospitality and the remaining factories.
Pioneering Canned Fish
The canned fish industry in Setubal started as early as 1854. And when it closed its last two companies in 1995, it was soon time to ‘Say Hello to iMac’. Two years later Apple’s Campaign was “Think Different.” Setùbal got it as a subliminal message.
A visionary mayor was holding the helm
That mindset was politically ingrained. Nuno who works in a real estate office in the historic center talked about how from a sleepy fishing town at the end of the canned fish business, Setúbal developed its bright new brand on hospitality, dolphin tours, flamingo birdwatching, and fresh food as a hand-crafted tourism offer.
Change Propelled with Vision
A business lawyer born in 1956 in Lisbon, Maria das Dores Meira became mayor of Setúbal and within three consecutive mandates, enacted this new narrative with limpid business vision. Specialized in industrial law and intellectual property, she has consideration for people, business, and well-being in her DNA.
The city transformation reflects a clear political vision. Change is not happening in small pockets or neighborhoods as often; change is holistic and everywhere. Christmas decorations, museum installations, municipal digital communication, and several tourism offices all operate in sync. And people’s everyday flow speaks to the overall spirit of innovation. If Maria had to step down after running into the limit of accumulated mandates, Nuno says with a sudden short breath, “she’ll be back soon.”
Mercado do Livramento and below the whole sale fish market along the docks.
Sustainable Living Starts with Food
Fresh food and locally produced goods are the first things that will soon catch your eye.Mercado do Livramento is where fish, captured before dawn, including an entire tuna, is stocked up. It is where friendly faces pop out of giant pyramids of fresh fruit and vegetables to serve those who arrive first. The choice of regional cheeses and canned fish, elegantly wrapped, both seem wider than elsewhere. And everything is still offered at fair prices.
In front of the city hall, men strategize the Christmas decorations. Further down, a group of joyful retirees has gathered for their daily chat at Fora d’Horas (Out of Time). A man appears and disappears behind the smoke of his stall in front of the church, selling hot chestnuts. In the narrow streets leading from the large square, everyone is arranging a window or carrying a Christmas tree. A tea house, a hair salon, a shoe store, bakeries, souvenir shops... Setúbal nurtures you with both the essentials, the superfluous, and customer service.
Praça do Bocage.
Street scenes around Praça do Bocage.
The Poet’s Legacy: A Square with Bocage’s Name
Setúbal is the birthplace of Manuel Maria Barbosa l’Hedois du Bocage is one of the most important poets in Portugal. The heart of the city center shares with him the name he was known by—simply "Bocage."
Praça do Bocage is a square rich in architecture, palaces of social status, and outdoor terraces:
— The Statue of Poet Bocage
— The Clube Militar de Oficiais de Setúbal
— The Palácio Salema
— The House of Morgado Bandeira, owned by the Viscount of Montalvo
— The Town Hall
— The Baroque São Julião Church
In the middle of the vast Praça do Bocage, where the black cat walks atop Casa do Turismo, stop and feel the pace, the peace, and the lifestyle unique to Setúbal.
Bocage, 1765-1805. Profession: Poet
Alongside Luís de Camões and Antero de Quental, Bocage is considered a major poet in sonnets. His life was ahead of the Victorian industrial era and barely touched the 19th century. He died poor at the age of 40. In counterculture, his life resonates with that of other renegades.
Imagine being a factory worker, a fisherman, a musician, or a merchant, and in Setúbal, always being reminded that a poet is there to sit by. A poet with a giant square in tribute to the tumultuous life of someone who stood by his ideas.
Between Lord Byron and Rimbaud
He was the son of a lawyer, José Luís Soares de Barbosa, and Mariana Joaquina Xavier l'Hedois Lustoff du Bocage, both descendants of the Normandy region. All their six children received a good education. Bocage studied languages (French, Latin, Italian) and literature. Orphaned at 10 years old, he later joined the Portuguese army and navy. He traveled to Brazil, Africa, China, and India, and held the rank of marine guard.
Think of Bocage as a brother-in-arms of Lord Byron (1788-1825)—had they met. A Neoclassical poet, bohemian and controversial, a dandy vagabond mired in love affairs from Setúbal to Macau, he was imprisoned in 1797 for propagating republicanism and atheism. In jail he translated pieces of the Roman poets Virgil and Ovid, and the French philosophers Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire. His sonnets anticipated the Romantic movement. His tightly knotted scarf soon disheveled around Lord Byron’s neck, and later, Rimbaud.
Bocage (1765-1805). Lord Byron (1788-1825).
Estuary and streets behind the docks.
Setúbal’s Timeless Charm: A Port of Poets and Artists
When cities mostly revere military and political exploits, Setúbal shapes its elegant square around counterculture. No wonder it is the town’s heartbeat, where people gather and play. A man sings American standards on his guitar, leaning against an angle of the church. People’s sheer kindness is hard to convey in photography. And there is something else, as evanescent as the heady scent of homemade fresh food escaping from open windows and restaurants onto the streets. It’s impossible to stop by Setúbal without having a plate of fresh clams in the city center or by the docks.
From Montauk to Setúbal: The End of the World
The black ink of octopuses. The thin product of trees. Setúbal recalls other places and other times. It evokes mythical ‘ends of the world’ geographies. Think of Montauk, the thin stretch of land at the end of Long Island, NY, once passed East Hampton, or the seaside town of Margate in the UK, which recently captured the scorned bohemia deceived by London.
Montauk, Key West, Big Sur in America, and Margate in the UK all highlight the irremediable attraction of landscapes, fringes, and cliffs dipping into emerald and stormy seas. Where the world disintegrates and reforms is where poets, writers, and musicians take refuge.
Convento de Jesus de Setúbal.
Setúbal’s Literary and Bohemian Spirit
Closer to Lisbon than Brighton is to London, with that same self-contained lifestyle in which you might wonder at some point why you should go anywhere else, Setúbal holds the literary textures and charm of other ports: Marseille, Antwerp, Barcelona...
Wander by the harbor, stop for lunch and dinner—close your eyes, nose stretched. Live here all year round, like the first wave of French, followed by Dutch and Americans, and enjoy classic concerts at the church of the former monastery Convento de Jesus de Setúbal (15th and 16th centuries), with its twisted columns.
Setúbal holds history and future in fishermen’ palm.
To capture Setúbal’s essence and spirit, blend the lifestyle of fishermen with the poetic rebellion of Bocage, the raw charm of places made by people who work hard. Between lighthouse and warehouses, men are closing the gap from the sea to the land with fresh food delivered to wholesale fish markets in the whole region. Entangled ropes, floaters, and black buckets carried by men in black. Sneak behind the harbor where sailors briefly meet nightlife owls before dawn. The raw and the real have always been the cement for artists building Beat Poetry.
Fisherman lifestyle in Setúbal.
Museum of Archeology and Ethnography of Setúbal.
“The Old Man and the Sea” Ernest Hemingway called his beloved Key West, Florida, “The St. Tropez of the poor.” Henry Miller, finding solace in Big Sur, CA, wrote: “If we are always arriving and departing, it is also true that we are eternally anchored. One's destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things.”
Montauk’s real estate boom echoes this transformation. Once a laid-back hamlet on Long Island, defined by motels, family-run restaurants, and empty beaches, it has seen a surge in investment over a decade. Source: “Montauk Goes High End” (2016) NYTimes
Meanwhile, Hollywood investments are expanding in Portugal. The Troia Peninsula soon will become an exclusive enclave. Today, even a small house there starts at one million euros. Real estate speculations now hyphen Comporta-Melides, where creative industries and royalty are making their mark. As The Times reports, Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, may soon join Princess Eugenie and some of the world’s wealthiest in Comporta.
Discretion is Style
Credit the soft manners of the Portuguese, which serve as a welcoming signature. Their discretion attracts those who value natural estates and secured privacy. Parisian designer Christian Louboutin, contributing to the region’s luxury trend, may have understood this instinctively. The landscape itself forms a natural fence. The visionary behind his neo-baroque hotel Vermelho (Red) in Melides, Louboutin shared his secret with a hand-picked jet set from his international network.
Golf estate on the Tróia Peninsula.
From Fashion to Cinema to golf estates
Greater Lisbon boasts more than 20 golf estates, and land around Setúbal, Seixal, and Santiago do Cacém has seen prices soar—surprising even the most seasoned investors. Neither the pandemic nor its aftermaths could have predicted such growth. The rise of "work at home" culture has fueled eco-tourism, and a return to nature has blend simplicity with luxury across the Alentejo.
Setúbal in Pole Position
Setúbal, strategically anchored between seas and mountains, with its fishing heritage and rich history, is as valuable as Montijo and Alcochete, but with less investment risk. The ongoing conversation surrounding the second airport project could bring significant change in the coming decade. From Setúbal, the ferry runs every fifteen minutes, with hourly services to the Troia Peninsula.
Moorish Castle of Palmela and its natural surroundings.
From Palmela, Setúbal with Moorish Altitude
On the A2, Seixal and Barreiro are both about 30 minutes from Palmela. Drive up to Palmela to gain altitude and admire the region, once carefully defended from its Castle— a well-preserved Moorish heritage.
Azeitão, São Lourenço, São Simão
Head out of the city towards Azeitão on the N10, where you’ll witness cars moving up and down the green hills surrounding the vast Hospital da Luz, stretching over the Arrábida Natural Park.
Village and landscape of Azeitão.
Costa da Caparica, Meco, Sesimbra
At the southern edge of Lisbon Bay, Setúbal offers easy access to Costa Azul’s beaches, such as Costa da Caparica, Meco, and Sesimbra, which attract visitors and remote workers year-round.
Bike, Ride, Drive
Drive to Lisbon via the Vasco da Gama Bridge, the longest in Portugal and second-longest in Europe (17,345 meters). If you prefer not to drive, take a bus from Setúbal to Lisbon’s Alcântara Ceuta, or cross the Tagus River via ferry from Seixal. By bike, take the direct Fertagus train from Setúbal to Lisbon. In 40-50 minutes, Lisbon’s cool charm awaits. Whether wandering its hilly streets or escaping the tourist crowds, you’ll likely return to Setúbal with a peaceful smile, having found your place on Earth.
Emerald Setúbal: The Next Big Thing
Wrapped in the myth of the world’s end, Setúbal is the next big destination.
Try and catch it if you can!
“Freedom, where are you?
Who holds you back? [...]
The mother of wit and pleasure, Oh freedom!”
— Bocage
Mercado do Livramento in Setùbal.
Setúbal Historic Center.
Setúbal in the mild sunny days of December.
Landscapes around Palmela Village and Castle.
Palmela Village. Reportage on the Setùbal Peninsula, Costa Azul, Winter 2024, DandyVagabonds.com
Mojo Real Estate Solutions is an international team of experts based in Lisbon since 2015.Dreaming of renovating a property to meet today’s sustainability standards with an architect? Mojo scouts and handpicks properties across all budgets, guiding you through the entire purchase process. Looking for a flat to rent, an eco-project, or a home designed for you? Mojo renovates, designs, and manages properties for both short- and long-term rental markets, aiming for optimal yields for investors. 2025 is set to be a game-changer for property investment in Portugal.
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