Alcoa

Top choice in Estremadura & Ribatejo


You may have seen it in Lisbon, but this heralded pastelaria (pastry shop) hails from Alcobaça, sitting front and centre across from the monastery hawking some of Portugal's most decadent doces conventuais (conventual sweets) since 1957. Loosen your belt: these award-winning cash-only pastries pack a wallop of sugar and satisfaction.

Superstars here include cornucópias (egg sweet in a hard-shell cone), coroa de abadessa (our favourite; a small cake made with almonds, hazelnuts, caramelised squash, sugars and egg yolks) and torrão real (more almonds, more eggs, more sugar but caramel!).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Estremadura & Ribatejo attractions

1. Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça

0.06 MILES

One of Iberia's great monasteries utterly dominates the town of Alcobaça. Hiding behind the imposing baroque facade lies a high, austere, monkish church …

2. Museu Raúl da Bernarda

0.7 MILES

This tiny place celebrates Raúl da Bernarda, the oldest ceramics factory in Alcobaça and one which had particular influence on Portuguese tableware design…

3. Museo do Vinho

0.82 MILES

Built at the end of the 19th century and occupying the former cellar of Jose Eduardo Raposo de Magalhães, this museum is an important part of Portugal's…

4. Miradouro do Sítio

6.34 MILES

As you exit the funicular at the top of Promontório do Sítio, make a quick left and walk 50m to the Sitío viewpoint – an outstanding aerial view of Nazaré…

5. Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Nazaré

6.43 MILES

The 17th-century, baroque Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Nazaré, decorated with attractive Dutch azulejos, is on the Promontório do Sítio and holds the much…

6. Promontório do Sítio

6.56 MILES

Until the 18th century the sea covered the present-day site of Nazaré; locals lived at this clifftop area 110m above the beach. Today this tourist-filled…

7. Farol da Nazaré

6.78 MILES

This picturesque lighthouse (famous for its backdrop when surfers hit the high seas) sits at Sāo Miguel Arcanjo fort and is a lovely place to visit,…

8. Fórnea

9.25 MILES

Don't miss stunning Fórnea, Europe's largest natural amphitheatre (around 1km in diameter) in the middle of the limestone park. You can enter from two…