Ericeira (Portuguese pronunciation: [eɾiˈsɐjɾɐ]) is a civil parish and seaside community on the western coast of Portugal (in Mafra municipality, located 35km northwest of the center of Lisbon, about 45km by road) considered the surfing capital of Europe.

[7] However, recent investigations, archived in the Museum of the Misericórdia, confirm that the animal mentioned was not an "ouriço", but an "ouriço-caixeiro" (hedgehog), a species associated with the Phoenician goddess Astarte.

[7] The region's first foral (charter) dates to 1229, when it was issued by friar D. Fernão Rodrigues Monteiro, Master of the Cavalry and the Military Order of São Bento de Avis, which was later reformed by King Manuel, in 1513.

[9] In fact, Charles Lepierre, a chemical engineer referred to Ericeira's beaches as "a focus of the major concentration of iodine in all of the northern Portuguese coast".

Reports dating from 1834 noted the anchoring of 175 boats transporting products to the village, principally cereals (which were then distributed into the interior) while exports, especially wines and spirits, were sent to the Algarve, the islands and other locations.

[10] The customshouse in Ericeira supported an area extending from Cascais to Figueira da Foz, and the port was the fourth most important in the country, after Lisbon, Porto and Setúbal.

During the Second World War, the region became a refuge for several foreign communities, including pockets of Poles, Germans, French, Belgians and Dutch expatriates fleeing Nazi persecution in their homelands.

The details were later immortalized in 1928 by Júlio Ivo, then president of the municipal council of Mafra (during the presidency of Sidónio Pais, who explained: "...the automobiles stopped and the Royal Family got out, they followed the Rua do Norte to the Rua de Baixo, to the narrow lane that connects the two roads, almost in front of the Travessa da Estrela...On arrival at the Rua de Baixo, the Royal Family went in the following order: at the front, King Manuel; followed by Maria Pia, then Amélia... the King...climbed aboard the boat using crates and baskets of fish...the flagman signalled with his hat, and the first boat, the Bomfim, carrying the blue and white flag on the stern, followed by the rowers, taking the King...the crowds along the coast were immense.

[6] In 2011, Ericeira was chosen by the WSR to be one of the World Surfing Reserves, together with Malibu and Santa Cruz in California, Manly Beach in Australia, and Huanchaco in Peru.