Thousands of Portuguese fans flooded the lakeside city of Neuchatel on Sunday to welcome their national team for this month’s European Championship.

Officials said some 5,000 fans waved flags and chanted loudly as the bus carrying Cristiano Ronaldo and teammates arrived at the team’s hotel Sunday night.

About 10,000 people were in the city to greet the Portuguese players as the squad begins the final stage of its preparations.

“It’s a great chance we have to see them near us,” said 24-year-old Ana Bela Ramos, a Portuguese fan from Fribourg, near Neuchatel. “We came here to give them our support and hopefully that will motivate them even more.”

Portugal will be based in Neuchatel at least until the semifinals. The team opens Saturday against Turkey in Geneva seeking to reach its second consecutive final.

Upon arriving, players and coaches waved from one of the hotel’s balconies, delighting the fans who waited on the streets for several hours.

Several hundred fans followed the team’s bus from Geneva to Neuchatel on motorcycles and paraded through the city’s main avenue afterward.

“This was awesome,” said 19-year-old fan Liliana Carvalho. “It was great to see the players waving from the bus to us. I’m disappointed I didn’t see Cristiano, but that’s OK, I saw the other players.”

Dozens of Portuguese flags were hanging from hotel and apartment balconies across the city of 40,000 people, and several hundred fans in Portuguese jerseys were near the team’s hotel by the Lake of Neuchatel, occasionally chanting “Portugal, Portugal.”

Fans honked horns and yelled as they drove by, and even dogs could be seen dressed in Portugal’s national colors — red, green and yellow.

“This is fun,” said 7-year-old Denis Meira as he tried to peek through the fences outside the team’s hotel. “Hopefully I’ll get to see them.”

It will not be too easy for Meira and other fans trying to get a glimpse of their idols, though. Security was increased throughout the city and the squad is expected to be mostly isolated from fans. City official Stephanie Wildhaber said officers from several nearby cities were summoned to help while the Portugal national team is in the city.

Some of the team’s practice sessions during the week will be open for fans, however.

“I got tickets and I’ll get to watch them,” said 43-year-old Oliveira de Paiva Antonio, a Portuguese who lives in Neuchatel. “It’s incredible, the city is completely different with so many people here. It’s very agitated, we have to enjoy it.”

Portugal’s first sessions at the city’s local stadium are scheduled to begin Monday.

The team arrives boosted by a 2-0 win over Georgia in Viseu on Saturday in its final warm-up game before the competition begins.