Hello friends, I started my tour from São Martinho do Porto. This place is a surprisingly serene lagoon with a wonderful beach. It's a favorite vacation spot for the locals but not well-known by foreigners. Here is your first hidden gem: a beautiful beach, many lovely restaurants and generally a charming atmosphere. If you go up the view is also magnificent.
Our next stop was Parque das Nações, one of the most modern and expensive areas of Lisbon. For some reason, I had never mentioned it before, although it truly deserves recognition. This area can also be called Lisbon's modern architectural park. It began to develop after the Expo held in Portugal's capital. There are many remnants of the Expo here: the Portugal Pavilion built by a famous Portuguese architect. The Atlantic Pavilion, used for events. The exhibition complex. A wonderful station and of course, the most expensive and modern residential complexes that developed after the Expo.
There are two buildings shaped like sails, a cable car line and the Lisbon Oceanarium located along the riverbank. When we visited, there was a wine and gourmet fair taking place here. It's a great event for gourmet enthusiasts. First, you get a pink bracelet, then you take a bag and a glass inside it. You can walk around the stands and taste various wines. However, there are small trash bins at each stand so you can pour out any wine you can't finish.
The first hall is quite large, with small stands representing each region. Different wine regions like the Lisbon region and the Bairrada region are represented. Bairrada is known as the homeland of Portugal's best sparkling wines. Vinho Verde is one of my favorite white wines. There is also an area dedicated to Port wine. This region produces not only Port wine but also great red wines.
After tasting the wines we moved to the next hall. It's like a food market. There are foods prepared by local experts from Portugal: suckling lamb, cheeses, sausages, sweets and oysters. The oysters come from Aveiro. Aveiro is known as the Venice of Portugal. I mentioned it in my previous post. There are a few canals and gondolas and the locals take pride in their own Venice. There are also various restaurants here serving hot meals. I tried the rice with game meat. Rice is a part of Portugal's folk culture.
The rice grown in Portugal is cultivated in special wetlands in small villages in the Alentejo region, such as Comporta and Troia. Since rice is grown in water, the conditions in these areas are ideal for rice farming. This rice is more similar to Spanish paellas than Italian risottos, cooked with various ingredients like game meat or mushrooms.
We had a delightful time at these events, sipping our drinks and enjoying the snacks. The event organizers had thoughtfully scheduled the event from 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm, rather than in the morning, which made perfect sense for the visitors enjoyment.
One particularly interesting highlight was a group of companies called Alianca. Owned by a Portuguese billionaire this group invests heavily in modern art. They own the Berardo Collection, the best modern art museum in Lisbon and their vineyards are intertwined with modern art. For example, there's a park and vineyard called Buddha Eden, which is definitely worth seeing. And there are artistic influences at another vineyard called Bacalhôa in the Bairrada region.
From here we moved on to Alcobaça, one of the oldest cities in Portugal. This small city, located between Lisbon and Porto, is famous for its stunning scenery and historic buildings. The Alcobaça Monastery, built in the 12th century, is especially notable. It was constructed after Portugal's first king, Afonso, drove the Moors out and served as the burial place for Portuguese kings for over two centuries. The monastery features a mix of architectural styles and its interior is quite impressive.
In the center there are intriguing tombs of King Pedro and his lover Inês de Castro. Inês's tomb has carved stone decorations depicting the life and death of Christ, while Pedro's tomb features decorations telling the story of Saint Bartholomew. And the wheel of life symbolizing Pedro and Inês's love and loyalty is also located here.
We also visited other parts of the monastery. If you want to save a bit of money, you can enter all state museums in Portugal for free on Sunday mornings.
Alcobaça also has an old castle. Like many castles it was used as a prison at one point. Alcobaça is also famous for its cherry liqueur. While the origin of this liqueur is debated, the people of Alcobaça claim it as their invention. You can also try amaretto, a sparkling wine with cherry liqueur here. Alcobaça is located on the pilgrimage route to Fátima, making it a sacred place and a frequent stop for pilgrims.
Portugal is also one of the world's top surfing destinations. There are many surf camps and spots popular with wave riders. However, the most famous and impressive surf spot is Nazaré. In Nazaré, especially during winter, the world's largest waves can reach up to 30 meters. These massive waves usually start appearing in November, but there are always good waves here, making it an ideal place for surfers with its wide beaches.
Nazaré's giant waves are caused by an underwater canyon that runs along the coast. This canyon starts at a depth of 50 meters near the shore and extends 2.7 kilometers into the ocean, reaching a depth of 5,000 meters at the end. During winter storms, the enormous water mass flows into this canyon, creating incredible heights with the combined effect of other waves.
For history enthusiasts Batalha is an important stop. This town is located near the site of the Battle of Aljubarrota, where the Portuguese defeated the Castilians. To commemorate this victory, the Batalha Monastery was built. This monastery in Gothic and Manueline styles, is a UNESCO world heritage site. Construction began in 1385 and continued in various stages.
Inside the monastery are the tombs of King João I and his wife Philippa. The tombs of King João I's children are also located here. Notable sections of the monastery include the Founder's Chapel and the Unfinished Chapels, the latter being an open-roof structure in Manueline style.
Batalha is named after the historic battle that took place here. In the town center there is an equestrian statue of Nuno Álvares Pereira, one of the commanders who contributed to the victory.
Portuguese soldiers camped here in Porto-de-Mos on their way to the battlefield. While they likely didn't have salmon risotto, they certainly had olives and good wine. If you get tired and want something to eat in this area, I recommend stopping by. There's a wonderful restaurant in a restored watermill with a view of the magnificent castle.
The interior design is beautiful and the risotto was excellent. It was a great idea to stop here while exploring the medieval Portuguese army's victory sites.
