Torres Vedras lies about 50 kilometres north of Lisbon, in the heart of a region of hills, vineyards and orchards known as the Oeste. It is a lively town known for two very different things: the fortifications that stopped Napoleon's army and one of the country's most famous carnivals.
The Lines of Torres Vedras
In 1809-1810, during the Peninsular War, the Duke of Wellington had a system of three defensive lines built in great secrecy, using the labour of thousands of Portuguese peasants, sealing off the Lisbon peninsula from the Atlantic to the Tagus: more than 150 forts, redoubts and batteries linked by a signalling system. In October 1810 Marshal Masséna's French army, arriving in front of the Lines of Torres Vedras, faced an insurmountable obstacle and, after months of hunger and attrition, withdrew from Portugal. Many forts have been restored; the most important is the fort of São Vicente, at the edge of town, with an interpretation centre.
The town
The old centre has a medieval castle with a view over the town, the church of Santa Maria do Castelo, the church of São Pedro with a Manueline portal and azulejos, and the Chafariz dos Canos, a fourteenth-century Gothic fountain. The Leonel Trindade municipal museum tells the area's history.
The carnival
The Torres Vedras Carnival, which calls itself "the most Portuguese in Portugal", is a five-day popular and satirical festival with no Brazilian-style samba schools: the stars are floats mocking politics and current affairs, giant papier-mâché heads and the matrafonas, men dressed as women in deliberately clumsy fashion. Tens of thousands of people take part (see also Carnival in Portugal).
Food and sea
The local sweet is pastéis de feijão, small tarts made with beans, eggs and almonds. The area produces a lot of wine. About fifteen kilometres away, Santa Cruz has long Atlantic beaches and cliffs, popular with surfers and families. Nearby are Ericeira and Mafra to the south, and Lourinhã, with its dinosaur museum, to the north.