Quaint little medieval town inside castle walls. There's lots of venders, restaurants, and a…read moretheater with stage. There's also restrooms for guests to use. A definite must when visiting Portugal.

This is a medieval town, still with its old fortifications in place that is an absolute marvel and…read morea must-do whenever you're visiting Portugal. There are so many cute shops to choose from and the entire walking experience was both picturesque and relaxing. The town is full of shops that offer good items at very reasonable prices. Among all of the towns that I visited, the souvenirs here were definitely among the best and very unique. There are lots of historic sites to visit and cobblestone streets are everywhere. The one thing to keep in mind is given a lot of roads are uneven for obvious reasons, older people should take notice when walking. I saw quite a few older folks in my group have trouble navigating the walk, that is something to watch out for.

Great place to wander around in. This is a huge castle, then the interpretation in English is…read morepretty good. There are tiles from the 17th century inside. You get to wander all over, looking at the dorm rooms that the monks lived in. You also get to see their kitchen and eating area as well as gardens. And of course the church inside is very very beautiful. I do not know much about the Templars before coming here, but they were a very interesting group.

If you like the story of the Knights Templar you should come here…read more This was Called the Convent of Christ. It was the temple where the Knights Templar lived when they were betrayed by the king of France and disbanded by the pope and fled France. Those who survived fled to Portugal where King Dinis reamed them the Knights of Christ. The symbol of the Knights of Christ is slightly different than the Knights Templar but you can see the similarity. The inner chapel is very ornate and beautiful which showed the money that they had. I loved putting the history together with the actual place.

So legend says a knight was saved from falling off the cliff by Our Lady of Nazaré, who casually…read moreperformed a miracle with zero regard for physics. The original statue was brought from Nazareth by a monk in the 4th century. You know, the usual backpacking trip. Inside there is gilded everything. Angels. Tilework. Your inner grandma will swoon.

This was stop on our personal driving trip in Portugal. It is UNESCO site and Rick Steve Europe…read moretrip episode. This monastery mainly to remember the soldiers who die in the war. The unique of this church is the gothic design of the church. It is beautiful stone work. They are very decorative. The entrance to the monastery is really beautiful. The visit will require two hours. This monastery is local at center region of the Portugal. One tip. If you decided to visit Batalha Monastery, Tomar Convent of Christ, Alcobaça Monastery, there is a combo ticket you can save some money. Just buy the combo ticket on the first place that you go for a seven day limited visit. The Batalha Monastery has many chamber. The sanctuary has tall columns to welcome you. Other chamber include tomb of King João I and other royals families. The courtyard has beautiful arches hallway. Each contain beautiful arch way entrance to garden. There is war chamber have displayed the medal, uniform, emblem, other war items. I love the last section we have visited. It is call the unfinished chapel. The column is beautifully crafted. It is one of the most beautiful thing I see in large scale. Do not miss that. It entrance is at the outside. So after you have finished everything inside don't forget to go to this no roof chapel.

The Batalha Monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage site. We stopped here on our Viking Cruises…read moretransfer from Lisbon to Porto and I'm so glad we did! It is intertwined with Portuguese history and is the burial place of the 14th to 15th century royalty the Portuguese call the "Illustrious Generation". These include King John I, his wife Philippa of Lancaster, and their children, including the fabled Prince Henry the Navigator. John I ensured the independence of Portugal. Prince Henry launched Portugal's Age of Discovery. They are buried in the octagonal Founder's Chapel. The Royal Cloisters lead from the church. They are an intricate Gothic wonder. The former Chapter House is now the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Adjacent is the Cloister of Dom Afonso V. It was added later, and is in a much simplified Gothic style. Lastly, a great surprise are the Unfinished Chapels, mortuary chapels commissioned by Duarte. Work was not taken up on them for nearly half a century, and by the time it was, the Manueline style had come into fashion under Manuel I. Thus, these eight chapel, open tot he sky are in a beautiful Manueline architecture. The monastery is simply a historical and visual treat.

My wife and I were here on a Gate1 tour, and visiting this Monastery was part of the guided tour…read more It was the first building in Portugal to adopt the Gothic style and is the largest church in the country. It has a lot of unadorned 12th-century arches. Inside are the highly decorated tombs of King Pedro I and his lover Inês de Castro-it's a tragic love story that has been the source of 17 operas. In 1340, the young Inês de Castro met Pedro when she arrived at court in his wife's entourage. Inês and Pedro fell madly in love, and neither the disapproval of the king nor the machinations of Pedro's wife could keep the two of them apart. In an act of desperation, King Afonso IV, Pedro's father, finally had Inês murdered before her children's eyes. Pedro, heartbroken and enraged, rose up in open rebellion against his father, but ultimately failed in his quest for revenge and justice. Two years after Inês' death, Afonso died and Pedro became king. Legend holds that Pedro ordered Inês' body to be disinterred, her corpse dressed in finery and propped up in the throne room. Pedro then ordered his vassals to pledge their obedience and loyalty to this corpse he called his wife and queen, and further demanded that they kiss her dead hand.

While spending a day away from family in Portugal, we decided to spend some time in Alcobaça. We…read moreended up spending exploring this monastery after having breakfast at a cafe directly in front of the building. There was nothing like eating in front of this gorgeous building with my wife as we enjoyed the silence of the morning. Once we entered the monastery we were reminded of how incredible old architecture is. The stonework here is beautiful and the details are incredible. We loved walking through the tomb room as well as spending time in the courtyard garden. The community and staff here have done an incredible job of restoring the building as well as providing a learning space for new visitors. Overall, we loved spending the day at this monastery, and the other parts of the surrounding town are great to explore as well.

Wow, I did not expect to see this when walking into the church. It appears destroyed on the…read moreinside, as it basically was due to earthquake and fire. Have never seen anything like it. Definitely a neat experience.

The third of three churches, my wife and I visited in Lisbon, Portugal, during a transatlantic…read morecruise, the Catholic Church of St Dominic was heavily damaged/destroyed by fire in 1959. It reopened in 1994, with much of that damage clearly indicating burn marks throughout the church. It has daily mass, with signs asking for visitors to respect the religious reasons for visits.

What can I say? This is one of the most famous pilgrimage places for Catholics worldwide. See it in…read moreperson is a much more different experience than any learning people you can do. Such a beautiful sanctuary that both believers a non-believers can enjoy and see for them themselves. There's an energy about this place. Small town in Portugal gaining worldwide fame over children's years over decades ago. Inside you'll find three different areas of worship. My favorite is the Chapel of apparitions, which is an outdoor chapel. It's supposedly where the children saw the mother Mary. The easiest way to get here is buy a tour or taking a bus directly from Lisbon. This is definitely worth a A visit if you're in Portugal. it is simply a place you check out and feel it's special energy.

If you are visiting Lisbon, be sure to make a pilgrimage to this holy site! We took the Metro…read moretrain from Lisbon to Orient station, then connected to an express bus for 2 hour ride to Fatima. Once there, take a 10 minute walk to the Fatima site. I was pleasantly surprised to see how modern this place was! There are 6 major locations within this site. 1. Chapel of the apparitions 2. Basilica of our Lady 3. High cross. 4. Immaculate heart of Mary 5. Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity

One of the most beautiful buildings from the outside in all of Portugal is the adjacent Jeronimos…read moremonetary. This church, like all Catholic Churches in Portugal can be visited for free. In addition to hosting the tomb of famous explorer Vasco de gamma it is notable for its soaring ceilings and arches and the elephants seen around the inside, ancient symbols of power. As a gothic style church it is quite austere and has a solemn contemplative feeling with dim lighting. As Lisbon is getting more touristed, when we arrived around opening time, 10 am, we were behind several large bus-tour groups. While there is no fee to enter, they do control the crowds by metering the number of people at a time. We spent no more than 20 minutes inside and we had the benefit of a private guide who explained important features of the structure and architecture. Definitely worth a short visit. Come later in the day, say 4 or 4:30 for smaller crowds.

The church is stunning and beautiful inside. I attended Sunday mass. It was peaceful inside. The…read moreonly bad interaction was with this man on my way out telling me "no visitor." I attended the mass already and I walked around the church. I recognized him. He was the one lighting the candle at the beginning of the mass. He was by the other exit door on my way out and there was a door open so I was trying go around that way so I will end up where I came from. I understand at times they don't want visitors but someone already inside the church, & attended mass. I didn't feel like arguing with him. I don't know if it is just me or the churches I attended near where I was from, there are visitors coming in during mass. They do welcome visitors. If they wanted to leave they leave quietly. Aside from that man's attitude, it is a beautiful church.