The urban area of Póvoa de Varzim in northern Portugal is divided into eleven districts (partes, lit. "parts"), each with distinctive zones (zonas), which are significant areas of the city and have population and topological differences. The vernacular terminology and 19th century subdivisions for the town is Bairro (neighbourhood or quarter).
While most of the assigned boundaries match with traditional local designations, some others differ from common traditional use, for instance the northern area of Giesteira is understood as part of Barreiros. This is a result of the City Planning Commission's wish to divide the city with a population of about 3 to 4 thousand in each district. Although, the idea of a neighbourhood equal to a district was aimed, sometimes it was not possible, given the fact that some are excessively small. While most of the districts have been in common use by locals for generations, some designated names are rarely heard outside of the Planning Commission usage, such as "Parque da Cidade" or "Agro-Velho". Some districts are formed by more than one quarter, such as the Matriz/Mariadeira formed by Matriz, Mariadeira, Regufe, Penalves, and Coelheiro or the Barreiros/Moninhas District formed by Barreiros and Moninhas.
Póvoa de Varzim has seven civil parishes (freguesia), which are formal administrative subdivisions of the municipality, including the urban area and the city outskirts. These civil parishes are derived from ecclesiastical parishes located in medieval farmsteads, most of which have records dating to the 11th century.