What’s not to like about Tomar? It’s not too big, but has plenty to keep you busy at least for a day. Tomar is a gentle, medium sized town. It’s not glamorous but it is certainly charming. Tomar has a little bit of kitsch, a little bit of retro, a smidge of fun.
Let’s start with the gob-smacker, bound-to-bowl-you-over UNESCO World Heritage Listed Convento Do Christo. It was the headquarters of the Knights Templar, aka the Iberian Crusaders. The knights were a religious order, but this place has a certain macho robustness that helps you remember that it was also a serious military base. Built in the 12th Century, the convento is a complex complex of courtyards, chapels and living facilities and there isn’t a single corner that’s not photogenic. My favourite bits are the stone spiral staircases of the Santa Barbara cloister leading to the terrace (where there is a top view of the gaudy and carbuncular pi èce de résistance Manueline window) and the refectory; a vast dining room that would make the ultimate location for a debaucherous medieval feast-party, convent and piety notwithstanding. If you can’t get a bit of joy out of this joint then you have no imagination.
Time for a coffee, so we’ll go straight down to the corredore, the cobbled and pedestrianised thoroughfare in the old town. Café Paraiso is a classic, where the story goes that the local ladies had a seating system according to social ranking. Windows, most preferred. Toilets, least preferred. Don’t sit in Mrs Wapnobbles place or you´ll get a pastel in the face…. that sort of thing.
Also in the corredore is one of my favourite hotels in Portugal the Residencial União. It is the type of intimate, family run, character laden place that I want all guest houses to be like. Prim and proper like an English hotel but also cosy like staying at nanna’s. The dining room is so cute that I expect to see Poirot or Miss Marple reading in a corner. And it’s all genuine. They are not trying to be quaint or boutique, it’s just the authentic and stopped-in-time nature of the place. I can’t fault it. And it’s a ridiculous bargain to boot. The last I looked at their rates they hadn’t put them up in 3 years.
And now I’m going to rave about the museu dos fósforos. I would never have gone to a matchbox museum in a pink fit if it wasn’t for two funny Australians who directed me to the breasts in the chapel at Busaco (another sublime little secret of Portugal for another time) and on the strength of this tip, I listened well when they urged me not to miss this museum. And there you are: you might never imagine that the largest matchbox collection in the southern hemisphere could be so fascinating, or hilarious. The collection, belonging to the fabulously named Aquiles Da Mota Lima, is ridiculously vast, a superb snapshot of 20th century graphic arts. It is severely kitsch, and big fun.
What really lights my fire is that it’s the inverse of most museum collections. Your regular art collector wants their good taste, their wealth and their cultured intelligence to be admired through their collections. It can be all rather vulgar and pretentious sometimes. On display here is a plebeian obsession taken to the extreme. It is curious maximus. The first room is cute, the second interesting but after the third room and 20,000 matchboxes, you get the picture. This guy is nutty. The madness of it becomes slightly overwhelming – when there are still another 20,000 matchboxes to go – and the humanity so palpable that you can almost hear Mrs Da Mota Lima nagging Aquiles to get these damn bloody matches out of the house. So, don´t miss it. It’s (unbelievably) free and only open in the afternoons.
The best towns always have more than one historic café and my other hang is Estrelas do Tomar. I rate a place that does its specialities in a specially printed box and at Estrelas you can take home `kiss me quick´- Beija me depressa – little gooey custardy globs that look yummy, but frankly I just want the box. The rest of their pastries are just too darn tempting anyway, and the green tiles and matching dark tables and chairs are totally up my street. AND, very unusually for Portugal, they have a wicked tea selection, like they saw me coming.
Just as well god created the day with morning and afternoon tea. And just as well there’s lunch and dinner too because there is a lot of good food to be had in Tomar. I’m always on the look out for the side alley, small but personality-filled bistro, and the Tomar baixa is full of such treasures. My current favourite is Restaurant Piri-Piri which is a slight cut-above the usual, possible owing to its success with the house made sauce, and a very good wine list. The hosts are even more hospitable than your typical Portuguese restaurateurs. More great hosts and buckets of atmosphere can be found at Casa das Ratas and her sister-across-the-laneway Casa Matreno. They have the same short menu of tasty and satisfying fare with an interesting seasonal special or two, so you’ll just have to choose between the taverna style of the Ratas or the pink and green diner tiles of the Matreno.
Finally, when in Tomar, I never miss a visit to The Princesa. If the time is right and the weather is mild, she may just make herself available. However, The Princesa only conducts visits from her first floor window where she can look down on the people as they crane their necks adoringly. Is she not the most beautiful cat in all of Portugal?
Read more from Emma on her blog:
Penela has many amenities, including a range of shops, weekly market (Wednesday), banks, post office, café-bars, restaurants, cinema, internet café, schools (nursery, primary & secondary), doctors, dentists, library, indoor & outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, sports centre, football ground, karate & kendo clubs, motocross & 4×4 clubs, parasailing, gym, massage & beauty spa, horse riding, and river beaches for swimming and fishing.
Louçainha, set in mountains and surrounded by trees, has natural fresh water pools for swimming, and a café and picnic area. Loucainha is set in the Serra da Espinhal and lies approximately 6 kms to the east of Penela and is south of Miranda do Corvo.
for free summer bus service to Louçainha.
Penela is host to a number of colorful folk festivals, the largest of which is the Feira de São Miguel/Feira das Nozes (Walnut Festival) on 29th September (the town’s annual holiday) when local walnuts and honey are for sale. Other festivals/markets in the region include:
Penela:
Festa de Santo Amaro – 1st Sunday in June
Festa de Santo António Convento de Santo António – the Sunday closest to 13th June
Festa da Senhora da Nazaré – 15th August
Espinhal:
Mercado Semanal (Weekly Market) – Mondays
Feira Mensal do Gado (Monthly Market) – 3rd Thursday of each month
Festa da Nossa Senhora do Pranto – 2nd Sunday closest to 13th June
Podentes:
Feira Mensal (Monthly Market) – 3rd Sunday of each month
Festa da Nossa Senhora do Pranto 2nd & 3rd Sundays in September
Rabaçal:
Feira Mensal (Monthly Market) – last Wednesday of month
Feira de Santa Maria Madalena – 15th August
Penela Local Council (Câmara Municipal de Penela):
Praça do Município, 3230 – 253 Penela
Telephone: 239560120 / Fax: 239569400
email: cmpenela@cm-penela.pt
website:
Tourist Office:
Posto de Turismo Municipal de Penela, Praça do Município, 3230 – 253 Penela
Telephone: 239561132
email: turismo@cm-penela.pt
Porto is approximately 1.5 hours drive and Lisbon 2 hours. Silver Coast (Costa da Prata) beaches approximately 35 minutes, and the Algarve (Faro airport) approx. 5hrs.
Luso is one of Portugal’s most important spa towns and its hot-water springs became popular in the 18th century, although the town dates back to the 11th century. Today a variety of treatments are available and the waters are said to be particularly beneficial for arterial disease and rheumatism.
Luso is situated in the Serra do Buçaco, a wooden ridge about 15km long running north from Penacova. Nearby are Buçaco Palace and the national forest. Carmelite monks have inhabited and cultivated this area since the 6th century; a monastery was founded in the 17th century and a wall built around a section of the forest on the southern slope of the ridge, to ensure their seclusion and solitude for spiritual contemplation. The monks planted a huge variety of trees and exotic plants – over 500 species are present to this day, and some of the trees date back to the 1600s. The forest is open to the public and offers many beautiful walks amongst the trees, following the “stations of the cross” and little hermitages, to the “Cruz Alta” at the top of the hill.
The palace was built in 1900 in the impressive and ornate Manueline style. The former royal summer residence and hunting lodge is now the and offers luxury accommodation and a first class restaurant.
The area is also famous for being the scene of the where Wellington, with his army of British and Portuguse soldiers, won victory over 66,000 troops during the unsuccessful French invasion of Portugal in 1810.
Buçaco Military Museum
Museu Militar do Buçaco, Buçaco 3050-361, Portugal
Phone: 231939310 / Fax: 231939310
Porto is approximately 1.5 hours drive and Lisbon 2 hours. Silver Coast (Costa da Prata) beaches approximately 35 minutes, and the Algarve (Faro airport) approx. 5hrs.
There are many festas in the town throughout the summer and one of Portugal’s biggest in August. The town’s facilities include a range of shops, bars, cafés and restaurants, schools, parks & picnic areas, and a campsite.
Góis Local Council (Câmara Municipal de Góis):
Praça da República, 3330-310 Góis
Telephone: 235770110 / Fax: 235770114
email: geral@cm-gois.pt
website:
Parishes (freguesias) in the gois municipal district:
- Alvares
- Cadafaz
- Colmeal
- Góis
- Vila Nova do Ceira
- in the Góis district.
In Avô the river Alva and the Ribeira meet to create a little island – “Ilha do Picoto”
The Ilha do Picoto and the river with its beautiful stone bridges; the grand old houses and the ancient cottages huddled together alongside the narrow cobbled streets leading up to the castle ruins; make Avô a very picturesque little town full of character and charm.
Geographical Information:
Latitude 40.2833 / Longitude -7.9000
Altitude 1,624 feet/ 494 metres
Local: Freguesia de Avô
Area: 7.17km2
Population: 633
(Data from 2001 census)
Oliveira do Hospital Local Council (Câmara Municipal de Oliveira do Hospital):
Largo Conselheiro Cabral Metello, 3400-062 Oliveira do Hospital
Telephone: 238605250 / Fax: 238609739
email: geral@cm-oliveiradohospital.pt
The town’s facilities include a weekly market (Thursday morning), wide range of shops, supermarkets, banks, post office, library, bars, cafes and restaurants, health centre, dentist, schools, parks & picnic areas, public swimming pool, and a riverside campsite.
Arganil Local Council (Câmara Municipal de Arganil):
Praça Simões Dias, Apartado 10, 3304-954 Arganil
Telephone: 235200150 / Fax: 235200158
email: geral@cm-arganil.pt
Parishes (freguesias) in the Arganil municipal district:
- Anceriz
- Arganil
- Barril de Alva
- Benfeita
- Celavisa
- Cepos
- Cerdeira
- Coja
- Folques
- Moura da Serra
- Piódão
- Pomares
- Pombeiro da Beira
- São Martinho da Cortiça
- Sarzedo
- Secarias
- Teixeira
- Vila Cova de Alva
Related Links:
- in the Arganil district.