Walking tour around Alcobaça, my adopted home town

When I stand on our balcony and gaze right, I behold a UNESCO World Heritage monastery. Straight ahead I watch laundry flapping over the art gallery below. And left, my eyes follow a steep hill up to a castle, possibly built by Visigoths. After 20 months in the small town of Alcobaça, I still enjoy “pinch me” moments when I thrill to the knowledge that we’re living in Portugal, in Europe.

We still love it – the cobbled streets, bougainvillea and wisteria draped fetchingly over white stucco walls, reserved yet friendly people who happily give impromptu Portuguese lessons, the long history, tempting bread and pastries, and no snow to shovel. 

For us, Alcobaça is the perfect blend – large enough to have the stores and facilities we need, small enough to feel comfortable, and lively offerings of music, museums, parades and festivals.  

Let me take you on a walking tour to see Alcobaça’s highlights.

1 Monastery esplanade

The Monastery esplanade is wonderful place to sip a coffee or glass of wine and people-watch.

We’ll start our walking tour on the esplanade that faces the Monastery. Saunter from right to left and you’ll pass many café umbrellas outside the restaurants, bars, and pastelarias selling coffee and pastries, including the most-famous pastel de nata.

Step into Alcoa. A table near the door displays award-winning pastries, called doces conventuais [convent sweets], made mostly with egg custard. The story goes that nuns and monks invented these sweets to use up extra egg yolks after the whites were used to starch their habits; the eggs were an offering by young women praying for fertility. The Monastery hosts an international competition every November when you can sample luscious confections from all over.     

The esplanade is officially called Praça 25 de Abril, in honour of the Carnation Revolution on April 25, 1974 that ended the Salazar dictatorship and brought in democracy.

Many souvenir shops offer the symbols of Portugal on fridge magnets, tea towels, purses, post cards, ceramic dishes, aprons, and trivets. My favourites are the ceramic swallows, since these tiny birds symbolize family and Alcobaça has a large ceramics industry. You’ll also find roosters, sardines and cod, decorative tiles [azulejos], and countless things made of cork, which grows all over Portugal but particularly in the south. The stripes-and-flowers fabric is called chita – a cotton chintz originally brought from India by Portuguese merchants.

2 Monastery

Busloads of tourists arrive year round to tour the Monastery, open every day for visitors.

The imposing Monastery has been the core of Alcobaça since construction began in 1178 and the town still fans out around it. Church bells toll hourly from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with merry concerts at noon and on Sunday mornings before mass. We toured the Monastery within days of arriving here and many times since with visitors, but its fascinating history never gets old. I learn something new each time.

In 1153, King Afonso Henriques promised God and St. Bernard that if he won the Battle of Santarem against the Moors, he would grant this land to Bernard’s Cistercian Order to build a monastery. He won, he granted, he built.

The Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça became one of the wealthiest and most influential in Portugal and the church is still the largest in the country. Highlights include the tombs of Pedro and Inês (the real-life Romeo and Juliet of Portugal); the “gluttony door” into the refectory; the fancy sacristy; and the fish pond and gargantuan chimney in the “new” kitchen built in 1752.

Midway along the esplanade, turn left into the narrow alley.

3 Castle ruins

You can see the castle ruins from below or hike up to explore them more closely.

This alley hosts several notable shops – Pratu’s Restaurant (one of our favourites), the barbershop where Bill gets his hair cut for 7 euros, and A Casa Garrafeira (a restaurant combined with a splendid wine shop) – plus a peek at the castle ruins perched on the hilltop. Look high!

Although there’s evidence of humans having lived in caves around here since the Stone Age, the Romans were the first to construct settlements about 200 BCE. The castle came later. Scientists aren’t sure if it was built by the Visigoths (who drove out the Romans), or the Moors (who drove out the Visigoths). But once the Christians drove out the Moors, King Afonso Henriques repaired and reinforced the castle so it could protect his new monastery below.

Over the centuries, the castle has housed the monastery’s abbot, served as a prison, defended the village’s people, and been ruined and rebuilt many times. It’s again in ruins, but shows evidence of seven small towers and a main tower.

If you’re feeling energetic, you can hike up to the castle ruins for a fabulous view over the town, Monastery, and the Candeeiros mountains.

But for now, return to the esplanade to continue our walking tour. Facing the monastery, head left towards the leafy square at the north end.

4 Afonso Henriques Square

On hot days, Afonso Henriques Square is a nice cool place to sit and people-watch. (This photo was taken in March when the leaves were just budding.)

Enormous plane trees, with their scabby bark and almost-maple-leaf-shaped leaves, offer shade for the café tables and patios. A statue of King Afonso Henriques, Portugal’s first king, has watched over markets and events here since he was placed atop the Monastery façade in 1640.

Water from the fountain on the Monastery wall comes from the kitchen – part of the Alcoa River that was diverted via a small canal [levada] to run through the monastery to supply fresh water and even fish for the monks! Excess water returns to the Alcoa River.

The buildings that now house shops and cafés used to be the monastery barns and stables. Two big archways have Cistercian emblems, a few Manueline-styled sculptures, and many pigeons.

Walk into the archway in the far-left corner.

5 Opera Café

The pure notes of João’s opera highlights are intensified by the vaulted ceiling with pointed arches.

The Claravel Archway, with its mineral- and moss-encrusted fountain, now features the Opera Café, owned by opera singer João Paulo Ferreira and his husband, Luis. In the winter, João performs in Europe and the Americas, but during summer months, he sings opera highlights beside the fountain every day. The pure notes of “Ave Maria,” “Habanera” from Carmen, Handel’s “Lascia ch’io pianga,” Verdi’s “La Donna è Mobile” and even some Portuguese fado and Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” reverberate splendidly. João and Luis also host occasional dinners in the café, with João singing between courses. He has turned me into an opera fan!   

Continue through the archway.

6 Praça da República

After hearing João the opera singer under the archway (centre, above), you’ll emerge into the Praça da República.

Republic Square is where the 1910 Republican Regime was proclaimed in Alcobaça after the monarchy was overthrown. Over time, the square has hosted a fish market, a fruit and vegetable market, and even a parking lot, before it was renovated to its quiet greenness now. The only event we’ve seen here is the yearly Medieval Festa. Enjoy a gelato from the Pão de Alcobaca café in the warmer months.

On the corner, you’ll pass a lovely gift shop run by a man who makes his own ginjinha – a traditional sour-cherry liqueur from this area. We like his the best because it’s not as sweet as others. He offers 1-euro samples in chocolate cups.

Head straight across the square and angle right down a cobbled street towards an adorable arched bridge.

7 Bridge over the Alcoa River

Along the narrow lane leading from Praça da República to the bridge, you’ll pass the tourist information centre on the right, beside the magnificent magenta bougainvillea.

As you amble down this cobbled lane towards the bridge, beware of traffic coming behind you; like most of Europe, narrow lanes are not always pedestrian-only! Friendly shopkeepers run tiny stores selling umbrellas and household goods, flowers, antiques, and souvenirs.

Cross the cute little arched bridge over the Alcoa River, which arises from a spring about two kilometres away; the water is usually clear but can become muddy after rainstorms. Pause at the crest to admire the murals of swallows on the bridge and walls. You’ll see ceramic swallows, symbolizing family, adorning Portuguese homes and for sale in gift shops.

In the small plaza across the bridge, an accordion player often sits on the bench near the big iron gates, pumping out old show tunes. We drop coins in his open case as a thank-you; somehow accordion music always signals my brain “You’re in Europe!”

If it’s springtime, inhale the lovely scent of wisteria dropping their pendulous lavender blooms from vines along the wall tops.  

At the Y, take the lane headed left.

8 Igreja da Conceição

The Igreja da Conceição [Church of the Conception] is still inside what used to be the inner core of the Monastery’s grounds.

Historians believe that, while the Monastery was under construction in the late 1100s, the monks also oversaw the faster construction of this small church, where they worshipped until the Monastery church was ready. Later rebuilt in 1648, the church is not often open, except on Sunday mornings.

Just past the church, turn left into the Jardim do Amor.

9 Jardim do Amor

The entwined hearts, symbolizing Pedro and Inês’ love, are now Alcobaça’s logo.

You’ll cross back over the Alcoa River to enter the Jardim do Amor [Garden of Love]. This small park celebrates the immortal love of King Pedro I and his mistress/queen, Inês de Castro, whose story is a real-life Romeo and Juliet tale of gruesome and creepy proportions. In short, Pedro’s father had Inês beheaded. When Pedro became king, he had her exhumed, crowned queen, and honoured by forcing court members to kiss her dead hand.

Both are enshrined in beautiful limestone tombs in the Monastery church. Here in the garden, two royal limestone thrones preside over the park. Go ahead – you and your loved one, dead or alive, can sit in them and have someone take your photo. Behind the thrones is a large steel sculpture of entwined hearts, which has become Alcobaça’s logo.

On the far side of the garden flows the River Baça. Alcobaça sits where the rivers Alcoa and Baça come together, hence the name. The convergence point is just behind the small white museum with the brown roof. Water was once used to drive the factories, mills, and potteries here. Go inside the Electric Power Steam Museum if it’s open to learn how electricity was developed in Alcobaça – first used for lighting in 1896.

The building behind the thrones, now the town library, was built in 1870 by Araújo Guimarāes, a Portuguese man whose family moved to Brazil when he was small. Like many others of his time, he returned to Alcobaça as a successful businessman and built this home in a romantic Brazilian style. Many of the bigger, fancy homes around town were also built in the late 1800s (including the pretty yellow one overlooking the garden; it once served as a Brazilian consulate). Among his contributions, Guimarāes founded the Childhood Asylum, pushed for electric lighting, and funded the hydroelectrical plant that is now the museum.

Along the River Baça is a low wall with 700 small metal vaults. You’re invited to write a love letter to your beloved and lock it in one of these Vaults of Love. You’re supposed to be able to get keys for the vaults, but we’ve never found out where.

Leave the garden the way you came in and turn left. Follow the lane as it curves to the right and emerges at a large intersection. Kitty-corner on your right is the Mercado.

10 Mercado

Flanking the Mercado’s entrance is a large ceramic tile panel made in 1966 by Alcoa Ceramics, a nearby ceramics factory. Alcobaça and surrounding towns still host dozens of ceramics factories.

We usually shop at this traditional mercado [farmers’ market] when it’s in full swing on Saturday mornings. A small number of stalls open on Monday mornings and a few are open every day. Bring your own bags plus lots of coins – they’re reluctant to make change even for a 5-Euro note; this also tells you that prices are quite affordable!

Here you’ll find local apples – maça de Alcobaça – and Rocha pears from the orchards around Alcobaça, plus vegetables grown in surrounding market gardens. The monks planted the first orchards and gardens in the 1100s, establishing the farming tradition that continues.

Wander amongst the Mercado stalls. The main room shelters vendors who sell fruits, vegetables, bread and sweets, with two butchers at one end. Another large room typically has people selling bedding plants (flowers and vegetables) year round, eggs, dried fish, and live chickens and rabbits.

Follow your nose to the long narrow room with the fish market. Women from Nazaré, most wearing the traditional clothing from that fishing town 12 kilometres away, sell the fish that their husbands catch. They wear seven layers of knee-length skirts and petticoats, shawls, and big headscarves – usually black. They’re said to be the last group of people in Europe that still wears traditional dress on a daily basis.  

The Mercado is located on what was once Monastery property. When the religious orders were dissolved in 1834, rich families bought the land and built fancy homes, including our next stop.

Try to take the exit [saída] where you entered the Mercado, then turn right and right again towards a tall salmon-pink building.

11 Town hall

The salmon-pink mini-palace, seen across the roundabout and from the courthouse, now serves as Alcobaça’s town hall. Next to it is Esplanada do Artur café, where we took our friend Arthur when he visited.

Francisco Xavier Oriol Pena, a friend of the king, was another Alcobaça man who made his fortune in Brazil and returned to build a mini-palace in the Brazilian romantic style. This salmon-pink 1890 confection, now the town hall, features steeply sloped roofs and a Disneyesque turret. Since he didn’t have any children, the town of Alcobaça bought it in 1931. It served as an elementary school and a public security police station, before being converted in 1948 into town council chambers.

To its left is Esplanada do Artur – a nice café for inexpensive drinks and meals. Swans and geese swam in the pond at the side back in Oriol Pena’s day. Nearby is a big playground, the municipal campground and tennis courts.

The tall post-like sculpture in the centre of the roundabout is another local tribute to April 25, 1974, Liberty Day in Portugal, when the dictatorship ended. Up the hill to the right, the courthouse sits broodingly, surrounded by pretty walkways, fountains and ponds.

If you hear an air raid siren at 12:30 p.m., don’t be alarmed. That’s the daily signal, which comes from the nearby fire hall, for most businesses to close for lunch. They reopen around 2 p.m., sometimes 3 p.m. The bigger grocery stores don’t usually close, but banks, government offices, the library, and small businesses do. After restaurants finish their lunch service, they close until 7 p.m. when they reopen for dinner.

With your back to the town hall, walk along the street with the Mercado and its parking lot on your right, to the corner.

12 Cine-Teatro

At the back of the Cine-Teatro, you can see an old-fashioned movie projector.

Kitty-corner is the Cine-Teatro, built in the Art Deco style and opened in 1944. High up on the façade, you can see a low-relief carved panel showing a woman seated on a throne; the men beside her hold the comedy and tragedy masks.

Inside, deep-red plush seats accommodate 732 people facing a stage and screen. We’ve attended many choral and orchestral concerts there; movies, plays and dance are also held. Alcobaça has a high proportion of resident artists, musicians, authors, painters and other creative people.

A bullring and livestock market used to stand near this corner, but they were demolished to make way for urban development. Now, this area is the “new” downtown for Alcobaça, with banks, utility and government offices, the Art Deco-style bus station, and clothing shops. 

Turn right and continue downhill, into the narrow lane and back to the cute bridge.

13 Pedro and Inês ceramics path

Glass cases along a riverside walkway display Pedro and Inês’ love story in ceramics.

Back at the cute bridge, don’t cross over but go left along the walkway with the Alcoa River to your right. You’ll see a dozen glass cases with ceramic portrayals of Pedro and Inês’ tumultuous love story. Broken hearts (and even fairly realistic hearts), a flaming wedding cake, urns showing Inês’ murder – the ceramic artists let their imaginations go wild. Each case is paired with poetry, some by Luís de Camões, Portugal’s equivalent of Shakespeare.

At the walkway’s end, go up the stairs and angle left to see the final ceramics case – two white profiles of the lovers over blood-red hearts.

Turn around to see a pretty blue house.

14 Nursery school and convent

Chalet Rino was constructed in 1891-92.

Like the library and town hall, this robin’s-egg-blue home called Chalet Rino was built in the Brazilian romantic style by a rich Alcobaça man. José Pereira da Silva Rino, who owned vast tracts of land in the area, opted for one red-roofed turret and dormer windows with semi-circular roofs. His daughter, Maria Cristina Rino, donated the mini-palace in 1970 to the Irmãs de São José de Cluny [Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny], who still own it and live there. Dedicated to education, the sisters opened the Centro de Bem Estar Infantil [Children’s Wellbeing Centre] nursery school in 1975. We often see the children playing outside in their blue smocks and hats. So cute!

Go down the steps and angle left along the back side of the Monastery.

15 Monastery hotel

The splashy five-star hotel opened in November 2022 after 10 years of discussion, planning and renovations.

The five-star Montebelo Mosteiro de Alcobaça Historic Hotel occupies the back end of the Monastery, surrounding one of the many cloisters inside. We attended a concert once in the former library room, now a conference room, which is now empty of books and shelves but still impressive in its austere Cistercian dimensions. A friend who stayed overnight said the rooms are elegant yet still reminiscent of monks’ cells.

Facing the hotel, walk left to the end of the building. Behind the iron gate, you can see part of the Obelisk Garden, to be renovated next, as well as a small chapel and the back of the church. Standing back from the wall, you can see the obelisk sticking up; it’s missing its point.  

One of our favourite Alcobaça walks runs along the levada.

If you keep walking along that long wall, and turn right at the end, you’ll reach a path that runs along the levada built by the monks to supply water to the Monastery, not just to drink but also to cook, wash, water their gardens and orchards, and operate their mills and fountains. The complex hydraulic system was continually improved and adapted over the centuries.

Return to the corner where you first saw the hotel, turn left and walk along the Monastery wall, through Afonso Henriques Square, and turn left again to reach the Monastery visitor entrance.

16 Monastery visit and more

We’ve come to the end of our walking tour. Now, you can visit the Monastery or hop on the free bus that circles Alcobaça to reach several other interesting places outside the core.

The Wine Museum tells the story of Portugal’s wine industry. Housed in a former wine-making facility, many of the display rooms are actually former enormous wine tanks. The Ceramics Museum covers the importance of Alcobaça’s ceramic industry and its rich artistic heritage. Although unimaginatively named, Parque Verde [Green Park] has pleasant walkways between the Alcoa River and the monastery’s levada, with a lovely shaded café, playground and skatepark. The Bombeiros [Firefighters] station has a small museum; ask in the office and you’ll get a personalized tour.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our Alcobaça walking tour and understand better why we love it here. (Email me to request the more detailed version.)

Here are two short videos to see Alcobaça differently. The first shows Alcobaça at Christmas time and the second shows Alcobaça as it was in 1967.

We’ve lived in Alcobaça since July 2022. Find out where we are right now by visiting our ‘Where’s Kathryn?’ page.