Sights in Portugal
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Convento de Cristo
Wrapped in equal parts splendour and mystery, the Knights Templar held enormous power in Portugal from the 12th to 16th centuries, and largely bankrolled the Age of Discoveries. Their headquarters are set on wooded slopes above the town and enclosed within 12th-century walls. The Convento de Cristo is a stony expression of magnificence combined with the no-holds-barred theatricality that long lent the order its particular fascination.
The monastery was founded in 1160 by Gualdim Pais, Grand Master of the Templars. It has chapels, cloisters and chapter houses in widely diverging styles, added over the centuries by successive kings and Grand Masters. You can follow a short…
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Aqueduto de Pegões
This impressive aqueduct, striding towards the monastery from the northwest, was built between 1593 and 1613 to supply water to thirsty monks. Its 180 arches, some of which are double-decker, are thought to have been designed by Italian Filippo Terzi. It’s best seen just off the Leiria road, 2.3km from town.
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Museu Arqueológico do Carmo
The Museu Arqueológico do Carmo was set up to safeguard religious treasures after the abolition of religious orders in 1834. It has an outstanding collection of 14th-century carved tombs, some prehistoric implements and a dishevelled trio of mummies - one battered Egyptian and two gruesome 16th-century Peruvians.
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Aqueduto das Águas Livres
The 109 arches of the Aqueduto das Águas Livres lope across the hills into Lisbon from Caneças, more than 18km away; they are most spectacular at Campolide, where the tallest arch is an incredible 65m high. Built between 1728 and 1835, by order of Dom João V, the aqueduct brought Lisbon its first clean drinking water.
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Castelo de São Tiago Da Barra
You can still scoot around the ramparts of the Castelo de São Tiago Da Barra, a short walk west of the centre, which began in the 15th century as a smallish fort. It was integrated into a larger fort, commissioned by Felipe II of Spain (Felipe I of Portugal) in 1592, to guard the prosperous port against pirates.
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Ribeira Negra
Bringing the art of the azulejo (hand-painted tiles) up to date, the Modernist, polychromatic Ribeira Negra M0424 by Júlio Resende is a huge, tiled mural celebrating life in the Ribeira district. Created in 1987, it's located at the mouth of the tunnel to the lower deck of the Ponte de Dom Luís I.
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Museu do Fado
Immerse yourself in its bittersweet symphonies at Museu do Fado. This engaging museum traces fado’s history from its working-class roots to international stardom, taking in discs, recordings, posters, a hall of fame and a re-created guitar workshop. Pick up some fado of your own at the shop.
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Museu Regional do Algarve
Elements of old peasant life – such as a small fishing boat and a wooden water cart (used until the owner’s death in 1974) – are on display at the Museu Regional do Algarve, plus ceramics, fabrics and dioramas of typical interiors. Labelling is scarce – basic written information is available in English and other languages.
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Praça da Ribeira
Down by the river, narrow streets open out onto Praça da Ribeira, which - with its river views and austerely grand, tiled townhouses - is shorthand for Porto itself. From here you have fine views of both the port-wine lodges across the river as well as the monumental, double-decker Ponte de Dom Luís I.
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Igreja Do Carmo
Porto has some stunning tilework, with a wide range of stories unfolding on the city’s old walls. One of the largest and most exquisite displays covers the Igreja do Carmo. Silvestre Silvestri’s magnificent 1912 panel illustrates the legend of the founding of the Carmelite order.
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Torre Dos Clérigos
Just uphill from Aliados you can get your bearings and bird’s-eye photographs from the vertigo-inducing Torre dos Clérigos. Italian-born baroque master Nicolau Nasoni designed the 76m-high tower in the mid-1700s. To reach the top you must scale its 225-step spiral staircase.
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Parish Church
This elegant parish church – also known as the sé – dates back to the 15th century, although it has since been through several reincarnations. Check out its unusually sculpted Romanesque towers and Gothic doorway, carved with figures of Christ and the Evangelists.
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Igreja de Santo António
The little Igreja de Santo António, bursting with 18th- and 19th-century gilded, carved wood, is a stupendous baroque extravaganza. Beaming cherubs and ripening grapes are much in evidence. The dome and azulejo panels were installed during repairs after the 1755 earthquake.
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Torre da Tavira
The Torre da Tavira, which was formerly the town’s water tower (100m), now houses a camera obscura. A simple but ingenious object, the camera obscura reveals a 360-degree panoramic view of Tavira, its monuments and local events, in real time – all while you are stationary.
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Praça da República
A wonderful spot for bench-sitting or coffee-drinking in the sun, the broad Praça da República is the ideal place to start or finish your day. An especially mellow atmosphere descends in the evening, when coloured lights spring up and people of all ages congregate to enjoy the night air.
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Cloister
The cool cloister is an early-14th-century addition. Downstairs are the stone tombs of Évora’s last four archbishops. At each corner of the cloister a dark, circular staircase (at least one will be open) climbs to the top of the walls, from where there are good views.
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Mãe d’água
The king laid the aqueduct’s final stone at Mãe d’Água, the city’s massive, 5500-cu-metre main reservoir. Completed in 1834, the reservoir’s cool, echoing chamber (check out the start of the narrow aqueduct passage) now hosts art exhibitions.
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Arco de Repouso
You can leave the old town through the medieval Arco de Repouso, or Gate of Rest (apparently Afonso III, after taking Faro from the Moors, put his feet up and heard Mass nearby). Around the gateway are some of the town walls' oldest sections - Afonso III's improvements on the Moorish defences.
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Monumento Natural das Pegadas dos Dinossáurios
You can follow in the footsteps of the dinosaurs, through Fátima’s Monumento Natural das Pegadas dos Dinossáuriosat Pedreira do Galinha, 9km east of the N360 running south of Fátima; follow the brown signs marked ‘Pegadas da Serra de Aire’.
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Articula
This anticonformist gallery-cum-workshop displays Teresa Milheiro’s rebellious, recycled creations made from bones, medical tubes and aluminium. Look out for doll’s-eye necklace ‘Big Brother is watching you’ and syringe chain ‘be botox, be beautiful’.
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Museu de Arte Sacra
Museu de Arte Sacra, with stately 17th- to 18th-century ecclesiastical silverware and religious statues. You also get to see the restored marble church and, best of all, a rooftop view from the bell towers themselves. The stairway to the top is lined with azulejos.
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Capela dos Ossos
A more ghoulish attraction lies behind the church. The 19th-century Capela dos Ossos was built from the bones and skulls of over 1000 monks as a blackly reverent reminder of earthly impermanence, and the ultimate in recycling. There’s a similar chapel at Évora.
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Trem Gallery
In the old town, the interesting and attractively converted Trem Gallery houses temporary exhibitions by known locals and international artists – painters, photographers, installation artists and sculptors. It’s worth popping in here to see what’s on.
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Igreja de Santa Maria
Igreja de Santa Maria dates from the 15th and 16th centuries and retains a 16th-century entrance; the rest dates largely from the mid-19th century when it was restored after fire. Don’t overlook the strange orange and purple battling angels mural behind the altar.
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Museu da Água
The Aqueduto das Águas Livres and Mãe d'Água reservoir are part of the Museu da Água, in a restored 19th-century pump station. The museum explains the complex watering system and is run by Empresa Portuguesa das Águas Livres (EPAL), the municipal water company.
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