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Activities “A la carte”

 

“A la carte”: you may decide to stay in the farm enjoying the countryside; you can visit the city with its castle, narrow streets and small shops or going to a big shopping mall with a variety of places to eat; you can try Portuguese food and wines in nice restaurants; you can drive farther to different places mixing culture with nature: monuments and ocean beaches; religious tourism (Fatima Sanctuary) and villages nearby; old university city of Coimbra; the beautiful fortified city of Obidos. Choose from the Menu or ask for one, tailored for you.   

 

 

Visit this small but pretty town: its castle, the historic centre…Take a sit at one of the nice cafés at Praça Rodrigues Lobo to relax in front of a cup of coffee or tea. Visit the small shops scattered across the city.

 

Put on a pair of tennis shoes to walk along the river Lis and make a bit of exercise or  use the public swimming pool for a good swim (your host will arrange it for you). Have lunch or dinner downtown at very good prices.

 

Don’t miss a good concert if there’s one (See “Ongoing Events”), or go to the movies, because they are not dubbed for Portuguese. Actors speak their language and we, the Portuguese, read the subtitles. If you feel like shopping in a big shopping centre, your host helps you find the way.

Leiria

 

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Drive to Alcobaça town and discover its  amazing Abbey, also classified by UNESCO as World Heritage. It is almost the same age as  the Portuguese nationality, about 900 years old. Your host will tell you a dramatic love story concerning the royal couple, Pedro and Inês, whose gothic tombs are precious works of art. It’s worth buying a ticket to visit the cloister and the kitchen. Afterwards, ask for the local café known for having been awarded the first prize in baking the traditional Portuguese small cake, “pastel de nata”.  Enjoy one or two sprinkled with cinnamon.

 

When you feel ready, drive  southwards to Óbidos. You may take the Highway (A8), or the national road that is slower but allows you to enjoy  more of the landscape. Obidos is a beautiful female town, as it was almost always possessed by queens. Walk around narrow streets, visit churches and the fortress, but don’t miss  a “ginginha” – cherry liqueur – famous in this picturesque white town. In fact, you have better start with it, then walk and walk. When you finish the visit you’ll be fine to drive back to Leiria. Take the highway to drive faster and secure.

History in Alcobaça and Óbidos

 

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History and Ocean (Batalha and Nazaré)

 

 

 

After breakfast drive to Batalha for a visit to the Monastery of Santa Maria da Victoria, classified by UNESCO as World Heritage. It is a splendid monument full of history. If you are interested your host may tell you some bits of it, concerning the Portuguese independence from Spain in the 14th century, or the golden period of Portuguese Discoveries.

 

After the visit, go on to Nazaré beach and try a good dish of fresh fish, grilled sardines for example. Enjoy the sand and the Ocean, take the funicular to Sitio for  the fantastic view from up the high cliff. Visit the old church, the lighthouse and, if the weather allows it, the big waves that attract famous surfers from all over the world, like Macnamara.

 

 If you  feel tired and opt for not enjoying the the view by night, you can either come back home or still look for another different beach nearby. Drive a bit northwards and turn on your right when you see the signal “Vale Furado”. The Vale Furado beach is lost among charming cliffs corroded by the wind and ocean erosion.  The car parking is also a lovely viewpoint with a lovely panorama of the coast. To come back home won’t take you more than 40 minutes.

 

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Fátima, Mira D'Aire Caves, Pia do Urso, Batalha
 
 

Alternatively, if by any reason -  faith or curiosity – you wish to visit the sanctuary of Fatima you can take the highway (A1) and arrive there in a quarter of an hour. You may wish to spend some time there, praying (whatever religion you have) and feeling the introspective atmosphere of the place.

 

Leaving Fatima you can take the road directly to Batalha or take a detour to visit the Mira D'Aire caves, the largest in Portugal, they are an authentic underground Cathedral.

 

Then pass by  Pia do Urso,  a village  located in a beautiful natural scenery and typical houses. It has the first sensorial eco-park intended to blind people. Afterwards, drive to Batalha to visit one of the World Heritage and one of the Portuguese 7 Wonders. 

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From Leiria to Coimbra it takes you about half an hour if you take the highway (A1). This city, known as an open air museum, was the medieval capital of Portugal for over a hundred years, and site of one of the oldest greatest universities in Europe.

 

There’s a lot to see and enjoy in this old city: the old university, the amazing baroque Joanina Library, the two cathedrals, the old and the new… the natural beauty of the banks of the river Mondego… On your way back home if you are  fond of remarkable Roman ruins you can still stop in Conímbriga and find out the treasures that this well- preserved Roman city still harbors.

 

Coimbra e Conímbriga
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History and Ocean (Batalha and Nazaré)
 

After breakfast drive to Batalha for a visit to the Monastery of Santa Maria da Victoria, classified by UNESCO as World Heritage. It is a splendid monument that you won’t forget. It is full of history and if you are interested your host may tell you some bits of it, concerning the Portuguese independence from Spain in the 14th century, or the golden period of Portuguese Discoveries.

 

After the visit go on to Nazaré beach and try a good dish of fresh fish, enjoy the sand and the Ocean, take the funicular to Sitio to enjoy the fantastic view , visit the old church, the lighthouse and, if the weather allows it, the big waves that attract famous surfers from all over the world. If you  feel tired before watching the view by night, come back home. It won’t take you more than 40 minutes.

Leiria


Visit this small but pretty town: its castle, the historic centre…Take a sit at one of the nice cafés at Praça Rodrigues Lobo to relax in front of a cup of coffee or tea.

 

Visit the small shops scattered across the city if you want to buy any souvenir.  Put on a pair of tennis shoes to walk along the river Lis and make a bit of exercise or  use the public swimming pool for a good swim (your host will arrange it for you).

 

Have lunch or dinner downtown at very good prices. Don’t miss a good concert if there’s one, or go to the movies, because they are not dubbed for Portuguese. Actors speak their language and we, the Portuguese, read the subtitles. If you feel like shopping in a big shopping centre, your host helps you find the way.

 

 

Ongoing events


Entremuralhas

 

Then this is a great intenerary for you! Spend two days visiting our monuments "Mosteiro da Batalha", "Mosteiro de Alcobaça" e "Convento de Cristo" and 2 days visiting our beautiful coastal beaches and Pine Forest!

 

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Pinewood of Leiria and beaches
S. Pedro de Moel, Vieira, Pedrógão...

 

 

Drive to São Pedro de Moel, a beautiful beach, 20km far from home. You can drive directly, passing by Marinha Grande, crossing the pinewood - Pinhal de Leiria, one of the largest in Europe . You can stop and enjoy the old eucalyptus and pine trees and then go on to reach the beach. You can leave your car and take the pedestrian wooden paths, built in such a way as to allow people to walk by the sea to enjoy it.

 

Take your bag with you: towel, sun lotion, some water, a book. Choose a nice place on the sand to lay down, get a tan or have a swim. Take a packed lunch to have at the seaside or have a snack at one of the local cafés. If you prefer to get to know more beaches, because they are so varied, go on driving along the Estrada Atlântica (The Atlantic Road) northwards passing by Vieira until Pedrogão to have a nice grilled fish at a good restaurant over the beach, enjoying a splendid sunset. To get back home you’ll need about 40 minutes.

 

 

If you prefer to get free from your car, you can leave it in Leiria and take a bus to Tomar.

 

Tomar is one of Portugal’s historical jewels. Among the many reasons for that, is the Castle of Tomar and the Convent of Christ which are listed since 1983 in the UNESCO World Heritage.

Convent of Christ in Tomar, is a mix of Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance but what makes the difference is the Manueline decoration style, inspired by the Portuguese maritime discoveries.

It was built in the 12th century and was a stronghold of the Templars,  known as the Convent of the Knights Templar. Later it became the Convent of Christ, taking the name of the new order formed in the 14th century. It is also in the Convent of Christ that you can find the Round Church or Charola as it is known in Portuguese.

Try to combine this visit with a stroll through the narrow streets of Tomar and a coffee break in one of its cafés, where you can order a “fatia de Tomar”, a convent dessert, made of eggs and sugar and cooked in a special pot. 

 

History in Tomar
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If your plane landed in Lisbon and takes off from Lisbon as well, then I can’t help suggesting a visit to Porto the second most important city in Portugal. There’s so much to see and to experience in this very special city. You can either drive by car, take a bus or the train in Pombal, 17km far from home. In any case you’ll be there in 2 hours’ journey. You can spend a night there in a nice B&B that I can recommend and in 2 days you’ll be able to see a lot and get the wish to return.

 

If your plane landed in Porto and takes off from Porto as well, then it’s time you get a glimpse of Lisbon, our beautiful capital. You can either drive by car or take a bus and then a one-day ticket suitable for Metro and bus. It will take you less than 2 hours to get there. I’s only a question of planning.

Lisboa - Leiria - Porto

 

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ALTERNATIVE MENU

 

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