Lisbon – Day 7 (and a little of day 8) – Óbidos and Nazaré
Thursday, 11-Jun-2026
Tags: Travel
We checked out of Epic Sana and walked to the HF Fénix which was also the starting point for our tour at 9 am, and dropped our bags.
We used Zoom tours, via Viator, in a small va, to Óbidos and Nazaré. Ther was a couple from Italy that had signed up for the three town tour that included Fátima, a pilgrimmage site. We did not realize this initially and were not happy about it as we had no interest – after we got back, we let Zoom and Viator know that they needed to be more transparent if they had to combine tours, and did get nice apologies back. Surprisingly Tal, Daniel Bar-Lev’s wife (Daniel works for Mplilfy), signed up for the same tour so the three of us stuck together for the tour.
Gabriel was our tour guide, in his twenties, kind of a gig thing for him, while recovery from knee surgery, as he is in the army and does missions for the United Nations. So our group was Gabriel, the couple from Italy, Tal, and us.
He was a great guide as he related some of his personal history and the fact that he lived in Óbidos for a while and was really familiar with the locals.
Our first stop was Óbidos, walled city (the wall from the 14th century), where he talked about the history of Óbidos from Celts to Roman to Visigoth to Moors to Christian rule, and walked us through the town gate, along the main street, talking as we went.
Ginja is a big deal in Óbidos. Gingais is a famous Portuguese liqueur made by infusing ginja berries (sour cherries) in spirits with sugar. The ginga shops here are more authentic than the products you might get in Lisbon that may contain other additives like caramel. We stopped at Ginja Mariquinhas, an authentic though a bit comercial spot he knew for a private tasting, including starting with cherries. The ginga was served in chocolate cups — that’s the part that has become common and commerical.
We then walked to Saint Peter’s Square and to the two churches there. The first was Saint Martin’s Chapel, with its gothic architecture, built in the first half of the 14th century
The second was Saint Peter’s Parish Church, originally a gothic structure from the 13th century, rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake in baroque style. The tower with its stone spiral staircase, survived.
Our next stop was the baroque Almshouse Church, Misericódia, built in the 15th century, and modified in the 17th century.
The building next to it is thought be a Jewish meeting house from the 14th and 15th century, as this area was the Jewish quarter, until they were expelled.
Our last stop was St. Mary Church in St. Mary’s Square. Tradition has it that it was the site of a Visigoth church, then converted to a mosque, then consecrated as a church again in 1148. It was renovated in the 16th and 17th centuries, a mixture of renaissance, mannerist, and baroque architecture.
Gabriel then led us to a place to get up on the wall, walking about half of it to the town gate. No railings but great views!
Outside the walls before we left we got a chance to try truly authentic Ginja that was just sour cherry aged for years in bottles. Much better, no alcohol taste. We think the place is called A loja do Américo.
The next leg of the journey was Nazare. Nazaré, Portugal is globally famous for its record-breaking, monstrous waves at Praia do Norte, which attract top-tier big wave surfers from November to February. This phenomenon is caused by the Nazaré Canyon, a massive underwater ravine that channels and amplifies Atlantic swells into towering walls of water.
Above the main town is the Sítio headland, once its own town, with a funicular to get between the two. We actually drove up and parked in the large square up there. There were great views from the cliff. Gabriel showed up the small chapel on the edge of the clifftop. Inside in the basement grotto is a statue of Our Lady of Nazaré. The myth of the chapel is that a nobelman named Dom Fuas Roupinho was hunting in a dense fog, pursuing a deer that leaped off the cliff. Just has his horse was about to follow, he cried out to the Virgin Mary, and his horse stopped. He then commissioned the chapel in 1182.
Also in the square is the late 16th and early 17th century Our Lady of Nazaré church, which we stopped in briefly. The church has a famous Black Madonna, brought to Nazaré by the Visigoths in the 8th century, and hidden in the rocks during the Muslim Moorish rule. It was discovered during the construction of the chapel. We did not go behind the the altar to see it.
Also of note are the women who wear short skirts with petticoats, selling products in the square. This is partially a creation for the tourists but harkens back to when the women would sit on the beach waiting for the fisherman to sail home, and they would wear seven petticoats to keep them warm.
The three of us then took the long walk down to the lighthouse, passing the cool surfer dude, and surf museum at the beach, very windy there! We then took a tuk tuk to ride back up.
We met up with Gabriel and drove down to the main beach for lunch at Bússola Na Onda. The three of us shared an excellent large grilled seas bass.
Our last stop was Fátima. We chose to sit outside in the shade and chat with Gabriel while the Italian couple went in to the pilgrimmage area. When they finally came out, we headed back to Lisbon, getting there after 7, a long day.
We ate at nearby Feliz, a chinese restaurant on R. Braamcamp, a little north of our hotel, packed and got ready for leaving the next day.
The next day we left our bags with the concierge, ate at Bread and Friends, walked Parque Eduardo VII near our hotel for a while, and then off to the airport. We bought some wine in the duty free, and had no problem getting through the EES system kiosks. We took the 5:35 pm plane and landed around 8 pm our time.
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Larry and Eileen Samberg
