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Portugal City Travel Guide: Estremadura & Ribatejo:
Obidos, Nazaré, Batalha, Fátima, Tomar

The provinces of Estemadura and Ribatejo, which surround and stretch north of Lisbon, contain many of Portugal's main tourist attractions. Easily reached by road (and in most cases by train) from Lisbon, the towns of Obidos, Nazaré, Batalha, Fátima and Tomar are all well-worth a visit during any stay or tour in the country.

Obidos

Obidos © Jean Kugler

Set in magnificent countryside well-known for some fine white wines, Obidos is a historical and picturesque walled village.

The thirteenth century castle was converted into a palace in the sixteenth and now houses a popular and deluxe Pousada.

Obidos can be over-run with day-trippers, it is best to visit during the week or spend a night or two to enjoy its charms: white-washed houses complete with painted blue and yellow borders and colorful bougainvillea.

The main church - Igreja de Santa Maria - has a fine painted ceiling and seventeenth century azulejos - traditional Portuguese hand painted tiles.

Obidos Tourist Office

Rua Direita
Tel. 262 955 060
10am-1pm; 2pm-6pm Mon-Fri

Getting to Obidos

Train

Infrequent trains to Lisbon.

Bus

Frequent buses to Caldas da Rainha and then express bus to Lisbon.

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Hotel Mansão da Torre

Pousadas

Villas & Self-catering

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Eating

Restaurante Alcaide
Rua Direita
Tel. 262 959 220
Closed Mon.

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Nazaré

Nazaré © Jean Kugler

Nazaré is in the process of change - from one-time traditional and quaint fishing port - to booming Atlantic resort.

The sweeping (though treacherous) sandy beach is packed with holiday-makers in brightly colored rented tents.

It's still possible to see the local women bearing immense loads on their heads and the town's fishermen sporting the area's traditional woolen shirts and bobble hats, but Nazaré also has its fair share of tacky souvenir shops and trinket stalls.

The main promenade Avenida da República is lined with some excellent seafood restaurants and bars.

Nazaré Tourist Office

Avenida da República
Tel. 262 561 194
10am-1pm 3pm-6pm Sept-June. 10am-10pm July/Aug.

Getting to Nazaré

Train

The nearest train station is at Valado 6km inland.

Bus

There are frequent buses to most destinations from the bus station on Avenida Vieira Guimarães.

Accommodation

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Pousadas

Villas & Self-catering

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Eating & Drinking

Casa Lazaro
Rua Adrião Batalho
Tel: 214 483 319

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Batalha

© Dias dos Reis

Just 12km south of Leiria is one of Portugal's must-see destinations, the abbey of Batalha.

A UNESCO world heritage site, the beautiful and ornate monastery was in construction from the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries and remains a masterpiece of Manueline art.

Built to commemorate the defeat of the invading Spanish in 1385.

The abbey is open from 9am-6.30pm and is free to enter with a small charge to visit the cloisters.

Getting to Batalha

Bus

There are six buses daily to nearby Leiria and from there to Lisbon.

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Fátima

© Dias dos Reis

Second only to Lourdes as Europe's major pilgrimage center, Fátima welcomes millions of devotees a year who come to pray at the site of a miraculous apparation of the Virgin Mary here in 1917.

Three shepherd children had a vision of Mary, who supposedly reappeared on the 13th of each of six subsequent months calling for peace in the world.

On the day of the final apparition a crowd of over 70,000 people had gathered and claimed to witness the Miracle of the Sun, when illnesses and disabilities were cured among the onlookers.

A vast white Basilica and esplanade were completed in 1953 as a shrine for the ever growing numbers of pilgrims flocking to the town.
Fátima remains a strange mix of devotion and commercialism with shops selling a mind-boggling array of religious souvenirs.

Fátima Tourist Office

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Avenida Dom José Alves Correia da Silva
Tel. 249 531 139
10am-1pm 3pm-7pm May-October. Closing at 6pm at other times.

Getting to Fátima

Train

Fátima is on the main Lisbon-Porto line but the station is 25km by bus from the centre.

Bus

There are frequent buses to Leiria and Tomar.

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Tomar

Tomar

Latter-day El Cids, and anyone else drawn by stirring tales of Medieval daring and chivalry, would be well advised to head for Tomar - the spiritual home of the Order of the Knights Templar.

The Convento de Cristo, founded in 1162, was the religious and military headquarters of the Order as it fought to drive the Moors from the Iberian peninsula.

This mysterious place, redolent of the occult, seems straight from the pages of an Umberto Eco novel. The Knights came from all over Europe and even attended mass on horseback in the hexagonal chaple.

The monastery (open Tues-Sun with a small entrance fee) is within easy reach of the center of Tomar: a pleasant and laid-back place to linger and relax for a few days.

Tomar Tourist Office

Avenida Dr. Cândido Madureira
Tel. 249 322 427
10am-7pm April-Sept; 9.30am-6pm Oct-Mar.

Getting to Tomar

Train

The nearest train station is on Avendida Combatentes da Grande Guerra with trains to Lisbon.

Bus

There are buses to Lisbon and Fátima from the bus terminal near the train station.

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Book Accommodation in Tomar

Hotel Templarios

Pousadas

Villas & Self-catering

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Eating & Drinking

The main eating and drinking places are on Avenida Dr. Cândido Madureira or head down to the river.

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The average high June temperatures for Portugal is between 22C and 26C.
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Azores Albufeira Aveiro Braga Cascais Coimbra Estoril Faro-Loulé Guimaraes Lagos Leiria Lisbon Belém Madeira Porto Nazaré Obidos Setubal Sintra Tomar Viana do Castelo