Legends of Portugal itinerary

Portugal is a land of legends: stories of love and death, miracles, vanished kings who will one day return, roast cockerels that crow and enchanted Moorish maidens who live in fountains. The most famous is that of Inês de Castro, the lady-in-waiting killed for reasons of state and crowned queen after her death by the prince who loved her: a true story, turned into myth by poets, painters and musicians all over Europe, which every child in Portugal knows. Alongside her are the saint queen who turned bread into roses, the knight saved by the Virgin at the edge of a cliff, the innocent pilgrim saved by a cockerel, and the young King Sebastian, who vanished in battle and was awaited for centuries.

This six-day itinerary runs from Lisbon to Porto following the thread of legend: the woods of Sintra, the village of Óbidos, the cliff at Nazaré, the great monasteries of Alcobaça, where Pedro and Inês lie, and Batalha, the Coimbra of the Quinta das Lágrimas, the cockerel market of Barcelos and Guimarães, the cradle of Portugal.

Pedro and Inês

In 1340 a Galician noblewoman, Inês de Castro, came to Portugal as lady-in-waiting to the wife of the crown prince Pedro. The prince fell in love with her, and after his wife's death lived with her; she bore him four children. King Afonso IV, Pedro's father, feared that the Castro family, powerful in Castile, threatened the kingdom, and on 7 January 1355 he had Inês killed in Coimbra while the prince was out hunting. Pedro rebelled against his father, and when he became king in 1357 he had two of the murderers captured and executed. He declared that he had married Inês in secret and had her buried in the monastery of Alcobaça. Legend says he had her body exhumed, set it on the throne with a crown and made the court kiss the dead queen's hand. Camões told the story in The Lusiads, and it has since been retold in hundreds of works. See the history of Portugal and Portuguese traditions.

Day 1: Sintra, the enchanted mountain

Sintra (about forty minutes from Lisbon) is the most magical place in Portugal, its mountain cloaked in woods and mist, where legend says wizards, hermits and mouras encantadas, enchanted Moorish maidens guarding treasures, once lived. Climb to the Moorish Castle, the Arab walls running along the mountain ridge, taken by Afonso Henriques in 1147. Then visit the Quinta da Regaleira, with its initiation well and tunnels, and the National Palace, where the ceiling of the Magpie Room is painted with 136 magpies: it is said that King John I, caught by the queen kissing a lady-in-waiting, had them painted to mock the court's gossip. See Sintra.

Where to stay: in Sintra.

Day 2: Óbidos and Nazaré

Head north to Óbidos (about an hour), the walled village King Dinis gave his wife Isabel on their wedding day, which became the wedding gift of Portugal's queens. Walk the walls and try ginjinha in a little chocolate cup. See Óbidos.

In the afternoon reach Nazaré (about three quarters of an hour), a fishing town where women still wear the traditional seven skirts. Take the funicular up to Sítio, the headland above the beach, home to the little Ermida da Memória. Legend tells that on a misty morning in 1182 the knight Dom Fuas Roupinho, chasing a deer, was about to plunge over the cliff when he called on the Virgin: his horse stopped at the edge of the abyss, and the mark of its hoof can still be seen on the rock. From the lighthouse at the São Miguel fort you can watch, in winter, the giant waves of Praia do Norte, among the highest in the world. See Nazaré.

Where to stay: in Nazaré.

Day 3: Alcobaça and Batalha

Drive to Alcobaça (a quarter of an hour), home to the monastery of Santa Maria, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Portugal's largest Gothic church, founded by the Cistercians in the 12th century. In the transept lie the tombs of Pedro and Inês, two masterpieces of Gothic sculpture, placed facing each other, by tradition so that on Judgement Day, when they rise, the first thing each sees will be the other. The tombs are carved with scenes from the life of Christ, the Last Judgement and a wheel of fortune. Also visit the monastery's huge kitchen, with a stream running through it, and the Cloister of Silence. See Alcobaça.

In the afternoon drive to Batalha (about half an hour). The monastery of Santa Maria da Vitória was built by King John I to fulfil a vow made before the Battle of Aljubarrota in 1385, when the Portuguese defeated the Castilian army and saved their independence. In the Founder's Chapel the king and his English queen, Philippa of Lancaster, lie in a tomb where their effigies hold hands. The Unfinished Chapels, roofless for five centuries, have an extraordinary Manueline portal. See Batalha.

Where to stay: in Batalha or Leiria.

Day 4: Coimbra and the Quinta das Lágrimas

Reach Coimbra (about an hour). On the left bank of the Mondego visit the Quinta das Lágrimas, the "estate of tears", now a hotel with a great romantic garden, where legend says Inês was killed. In the garden are the Fountain of Love, where Pedro and Inês met, and the Fountain of Tears, born, so the legend goes, of the tears Inês shed; the red algae on its bed are said to be the stains of her blood. Camões mentions it in The Lusiads.

Nearby visit the ruins of the monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha, where Inês was first buried, and the monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova, with the silver tomb of Saint Queen Isabel, heroine of the miracle of the roses: legend says that when the king caught her secretly carrying bread to the poor in her lap, she said it was roses, and when she opened her cloak the bread had turned to roses. In the afternoon go up to the University. See Coimbra.

Where to stay: in Coimbra.

Day 5: Barcelos and the cockerel

Head north to Barcelos (about an hour and three quarters), the town of the cockerel, the symbol of Portugal. Legend says that a Galician pilgrim on his way to Santiago was wrongly accused of theft and sentenced to hang. Before the judge, who was eating a roast cockerel, the pilgrim declared that to prove his innocence the bird would rise and crow: and the cockerel crowed. In the archaeological museum, in the ruins of the counts' palace, you can see the stone cross that commemorates the story. On Thursdays Barcelos hosts one of Portugal's biggest weekly markets, with ceramics, colourful cockerels of every size, baskets and farm produce. See Barcelos.

In the afternoon drive to Guimarães (about three quarters of an hour).

Where to stay: in Guimarães.

Day 6: Guimarães, the cradle of Portugal

Guimarães is considered the city where Portugal was born: by tradition the first king, Afonso Henriques, was born here, and an inscription on the walls proclaims that "Portugal was born here". Visit the 10th-century castle, the Palace of the Dukes of Bragança and the UNESCO-listed medieval centre, with the squares of Santiago and Oliveira, where another legend says a withered olive tree burst back into leaf. Then drive to Porto Airport (about three quarters of an hour). See Guimarães.

How much it costs

To save money: a combined ticket covers the monasteries of Alcobaça and Batalha and Tomar's Convent of Christ; in villages and provincial towns you can eat well for €10-12.

Practical information

• Sintra: roads are narrow and parking is scarce; in summer use the buses up to the palaces.
• Nazaré: the giant waves are mostly seen between October and March, on days of big swells; watch safely from the lighthouse.
• Barcelos: the Thursday market starts early; arrive before ten.
• Legendary sweets: in Alcobaça buy convent sweets, in Coimbra pastéis de Santa Clara. See traditional sweets.
• Documents: EU citizens only need a valid identity card. See getting to Portugal.

Variations

• Fátima: the sanctuary of the 1917 apparitions, between Batalha and Tomar; see the pilgrimages itinerary.
• Tomar and the Templars: the knights' legends and the Festa dos Tabuleiros; see the Templar itinerary.
• King Sebastian: the "Desired King", who vanished in 1578 and is awaited on a misty morning; his tomb is in Lisbon's Jerónimos Monastery; see Belém.
• Braga: the city of churches and the Bom Jesus sanctuary; see Braga.

What to read before you go

Canto III of Camões's The Lusiads, with the story of Inês; a collection of Portuguese legends and folk tales to read with children; and Pessoa's Message, with its poems about King Sebastian. See also saudade.

Final tips

• Pace: Alcobaça and Batalha fit well into one day, but don't add anything else.
• Combinations: from Coimbra you can link up with the literary itinerary; from Guimarães with the pilgrimages itinerary.
• A tip: in Alcobaça stand halfway between the two tombs and look at the faces of Pedro and Inês: they have been turned towards each other for almost seven hundred years.

See also our other itineraries in Portugal.

Alcobaça on the map

Nearby