Beautiful cities

Leiria

Stunning city with castle in the valley of the river Lis

On top of a hill, in the centre of Leiria, you can find the remains of the Castelo the Leiria. It was built around 1135, and in the 16th century it was transformed into a renaissance palace. Parts of the castle were renovated in the 20th century.

It is one of the most beautiful castles in Portugal. It is even part of the country’s coat-of-arms.

The historic city centre of Leiria spreads between the castle hill and the river Lis.

Other sites in the city are:

The Sé cathedral, renaissance style
Museu do Seminário (seminary’s museum): exhibition of old azulejos (Portuguese tiles), wood carvings, sculptures, and 16th century paintings
Igreja da Misericórdia
Nossa Senhora da Encarnação: pilgrims church
Igreja do Espirito Santo
Moinho do Papel do Lis: an old paper mill with a museum about the craft of making paper
Museu de Imagem e Movimento MIMO: museum of image and movement
Jardim de Luis de Camões (garden)

Batalha

Batalha is located in the heart of central Portuga

With the famous Santa Maria de Vitória monastry in the city centre

King João I ordered the construction of the monastry, to thank the Virgin Mary for the Portuguese victory over the Castilians in the battle of Aljubarrota in 1385. The monastry is a Portuguese late gothic and manuelino masterpiece.

Together with Alcobaça and Tomar, Batalha forms the Golden Triangle of abbeys in the Costa de Prata (Silvercoast). These three monastries are on Unesco’s World Heritage list.
The municipal museum of Batalha was opened in 2011. It was founded to support the cultural heritage of the village. The museum has some interactive features, and takes you on a journey through the past to the present. In the historical archives you can also see the excavations of the Roman city of Collipo, that once was built in the Batalha area.

Around the monastry you will find all kinds of restaurants, outdoor cafes and shops.

Alcobaça

Centuries-old and active town

In the 10th century a morish village was founded at the junction of the rivers Alcoa and Baça: Alcobaça. Alcobaça is a pleasant village, well known for the Monastery of Alcobaça (Real Abadia de Santa Maria de Alcobaça), one of the most magnificent gothic monuments in the country.

It all started when King Afons I promised to give some land to saint Bernard if he would succeed in conquering the city of Santarém from the Moors. He succeeded in 1147, and in 1178 the Cistercians started building the monastry, and finished it some 45 years later. Soon it became the most important cistercian monastry in Portugal. The complex is one of the first gothic constructions in Portugal. It is partly open to the public.
In the church lie the remains of Pedro I and Inês de Castro. Their love story is the most famous story in Portugal. Their tombs face each other, so that when they both rise on judgment day, the first thing they see will be each other.

In Alcobaça you can visit the museum of Raul da Bernarda: an exhibition of earthenware made by the company of Raul da Bernarda & Filhos.

Events

Every year many exhibitions, concerts, etc. are organised in Alcobaça. To name a few:

Cister Música (June, July)
Feira de São Bernardo (August)
Doces e Licores Conventuais (November)

Townmap

Lisbon

Many special ways to discover Lisbon

There are many travel guides on Lisbon available, with lots of information about everything the city has to offer. That's why you will not find such information on this page. Instead we give you some tips/hints how to experience Lisbon in a different way.

Lisbon Walker offers a number of walks through the city, with English speaking guides (Monday-Friday). Lisbon Walker offers a wide range of walks. All you have to do is turn op at the right meeting point at the right time.

Also Lisbon Free Tour offers you city walks. The English speaking guides were al born and/or raised in Lisbon, and can tell you everything there is to know about the city.

Do you prefer a ride through the city? That's also possible.

Why not roam through Lisbon in a GoCar. GoCar offers several tours through the city, just pick up one of the funny jellow GoCars and follow the route . A great way to discover Lisbon.

Another possibility is a buggy tour or a Segway tour. Check the website of Red Tour Lisbon to see all possibilities.

And if you don't want to drive by yourself in a strange city, you can rent a motorcycle with sidecar at SideCar. One passenger in the sidecar, one on the backseat behind the driver, and go!

Or how about a tuk-tuk, that's another possibility to explore Lisbon. Check out Tuk Tuk Lisboa.

And there is more, because you can even see Lisbon from the sky, in a Lisbon Helicopters helicopter.

Al the touring and sightseeing makes you hungry. So why not combine that? That's exactly what Taste of Lisboa can offer you! They offer a number of Lisbon tours that introduce you to Portuguese gastronomy: the best cheese, the tastiest ham, the freshest fish, the sweetest cherry liquor (ginjinha), and much more.

More than enough possibilties to have a great time in Lisbon!

Tip: Take a look at weheartlisbon.com for ven more inspiration!

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Coimbra

The most important university city in Portugal

Started as a Roman settlement, Coimbra is home to the University of Coimbra, the oldest academic institution (14th century) in the Portuguese-speaking world and one of the oldest in Europe.

A number of wellknown Portuguese people were born in Coimbra, like the poet Francisco Sá de Miranda (16th century) and sculptor Machado de Castro (18th century).
Poet Luis de Camões and the saint Santo António studied in Coimbra.

Before seizing the power over the country, Salazar was professor in economics at Coimbra’s university.

Scenic location

Coimbra is picturesquely situated at the river Mondego. A walk through the city is very worthwhile. Most attractions are so close to eachother that you can get a very good impression of the city in just one day. The old city centre is on top of a very steep hill, so a walk to the university buildings on top of the hill can be a bit exhausting. You can get a city map at the tourism office.

There are lots of things to see and do in Coimbra, for detailed information it’s best to bring a travelguide.

But whatever you do, you must see the main building of the Universidade de Coimbra, with the Biblioteca Joanina (university’s library, 1728) as undisputed highlight.

www.uc.pt/en

Tomar

Templars left Tomar an impressive castle

Tomar is located east of Fátima, in the valley of the river Nabão. Already from quite some distance you can see why Tomar is so famous: the templar castle and convent (Castelo dos Templários and the Convento do Cristo) on top of a hill. This is the main monument of the city and one of the most important in Portugal. It is a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Other places of interest

On the main square, the Praça da República, with a statue of great master Gualdim Pais, is the church Igreja de São João Baptista. The main aspect of this 15th century late-gothic manuelino church is the manuelino belltower with octagonal top and pyramid shaped peak.
Not far from the square you can find a 15th centrury synagogue in the former jewish quarter. There are not many synagogues left in Portugal, this one is one of the few that remained.
The museum Luso-Hebraico 'Abraão Zacuto' is still small, but will be enlarged to be a cultural and religious centre. Next to the synagogue the ritual baths (mikveh) from the 15th century were excavated.
The 16th century chapel Ermida de Nossa Senhora da Conceição is a very good example of early renaissance.
Igreja de Santa Iria, also a renaissance chapel. Every year at the end of the month October is the Feira de Santa Iria, to commemorate the holy Irmé/Irene. She was a nun who lived in Tomar. The munk Remigo killed her and threw her body in the river Rio Tejo. Her body was found in Santarém.
Igreja de Santa Maria dos Olivais, the mother church of the order of the templars. This early gothic church was built in the 12th century, but was renovated quite a few times since then. Almost every master of the order was buried here.

Festa dos Tabuleiros

Every 2-3 years (the people of Tomar decides when the next one will be) there is an important festival, the Festa dos Tabuleiros.

The organisation of the festival is in the hands of the 'Brotherhood of the Holy Ghost', founded in the 14th century by queen Isabel, the Rainha Santa. This brotherhood gave bread, wine and meat to the poor. The party is on for 4 days and has fireworks, music, dance, and other folklore acivities. The main event of this Festa is the spectacular procession on Sunday. Fourhundred youg men accompany fourhundred young women in a procession. The women have a “tabuleiro” on their heads (board or basket) which carries 30 loafs of bread. The tower can weigh up to 15 kilos, and often has the same height as the women. On one of the squares you can see an example of a 'tabuleiro'.

Tomar area

Caldas da Rainha

This city 'The queen's hot springs', arose around a health resort

Queen Leonor de Bragança, wife of king João I, was travelling one day in 1484, when she saw peasants bathing in very smelly water in the Óbidos area.

She asked them why they did that, and they told her dat the water was benificial for people suffering from rheumatism and arthritis. Suffering from rheumatism herself, she decided to take a bath, and noticed that it indeed helped her feel better. As it turned out it was not just smelly water, in fact they were warm sulphur springs. Leonor sold all her jewelry and used the money to build a thermal hospital. The first patients already arrived in 1488, and it took until 1497 to complete all buildings.

Citypark

Around the health resort a beautiful park was created, the Parque Dom Carlos I. It still is the green heart of the city. It is a great place for a walk, and while you're there: there are a few museums in the park, so a great opportunity to visit them.

In the centre of Caldas da Rainha you can visit the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Pópulo, the former chapel of the thermal hospital. It was built in manuelino style.

Ceramics

Caldas da Rainha is very famous for its ceramics. Every year in July there is a ceramics fair, the Feira Nacional da Cerâmica. The city has several workshops and museums, like the Casa Museu de São Rafael: exhibition of cermics by artist São Rafael, manufactured by the Bordallo Pinheiro factory.
There is a Bordallo Pinheiro route that will take you through the city, not only will you get to know the city, but there are several ceramic sculptures on the route. Can you find them all?

City Guide

There is a City Guide Caldas da Rainha app, available in Portuguese and English. Follow this link to download the app.