Today our post will be more informative. Maybe many of our followers don’t know yet that you can learn Portuguese for foreigners in Torres Vedras. In this article we will talk about our school(s) and what you can do in this city after classes.
The history of school
As you probably know, Caravela is a network of Schools. We are located in several cities and as we like to say, we’re not a language school, but a school of Portuguese for foreigners. That’s because we don’t teach other languages: our focus is only teaching Portuguese to people all over the world.
In all countries we have foreign students eager to learn Portuguese. Although we found that out of the bigger cities (Lisboa and Porto) there is no schools specialized in Portuguese as a foreign language, therefore we’ve decided to open a school in the heart of Silver Coast –
Caldas da Rainha – and it was a success. It was so motivating to see how much people want to learn and how students like our work, so we’ve decided to expand. We’ve open school in other cities, becoming and network of Schools. And we do not pretend to stop…
Portuguese for foreigners in Torres Vedras Online
We have two formats of group courses: intensive and extensive. Both are 40-hour courses in small groups (3-4 students/group). The intensive course lasts 2 weeks and the extensive course 8 weeks. We have classes all day: in the morning, afternoon or evening.
Both formats have advantages for students. The extensive course always to learn in a regular basis and the intensive allows to learn faster.
Also, with an overall of 40-hour students don’t need to be engaged in a course too long. In the other hand, this way we are able to start more courses and, consequently, give more options to our students. In addition, we always work only with small groups. That’s because classes should be dynamic, with a lot of oral interaction and teacher’s attention, and with big groups this is not possible.
We also have private and many online options. We have been working online for a long time, especially because when some of our students come back to them countries they want to keep learning. Other reason is because they heard about the school and just don’t want to wait to arrive. During the lock down, for us was very easy to turn into online because our groups are small (2-3 students for an online group).
What to do in Torres Vedras
The city well known for the great Carnival has much more to offer. The biggest city of the West is located just 40 minutes from the Capital.
This is a big plus, because from Torres Vedras you can reach some places is Lisbon even faster than from other points must closer from Lisbon. In addition, if you like to go to the beach, here will be located less than 30 min from at least six great beaches.
However, the city is not only well located: it has itself many interesting places to see. Here are some of them:
– Castelo de Torres Vedras. The walls of this castle come from medieval times and to get there we must cross narrow streets. They are really cool and quite different from the other ones.
– Igreja de Santa Maria. Due to its location, it’s also known as Igreja do Castelo (Castle’s Curch) and is considered one of the most import temples in Lisbon’s region.
– Forte de São Vicente. Its role was crucial during the Napoleon’s Invasions, which allow to stop French army to reach Lisbon.
– Aqueduct. Built in the second half of 16th century, it has more than 2 km and crosses the Sizandro river.
– Chafariz dos Canos. It is the reason of aqueduct’s existence and is one of the main attractions. It’s the most monumental Gothic fountain in Portugal. Its first reference appears in 1331.
– Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Misericórdia. Located in the historic center, this church is considered the greatest one in the city.
– Castro de Zambujal. Dated back to the third millennium BC, it’s the remains of an Iberian village.
– Azenha de Santa Cruz. Located in Santa Cruz, near to the beach, was a watermill from 16th to 20th century. Now here are a Tourism Office, an Interpretive Center and a branch of the Library.
– Parque da Fonte Lima. This park is relatively new, it was opened in 1999. Located about 25 min from Torres Vedras, it has an area of 10,000 m2. It is very appreciated by locals, especially for events, such as weddings and christening parties.
Conclusion
This article was a little bit different from the others, but we hope it was useful as well. We have been receiving contacts for our school in Caldas da Rainha from students who actually live near to Torres Vedras. So, we hope it helps students to find us easily.
Finally, you don’t need to be in Torres Vedras to learn Portuguese for foreigners in Torres Vedras. That’s because we are located in several cities and we teach online as well.
See you soon!
