On this post I will highlight the places we visited and the best things to see and best things to do in Óbidos and around.
Our friends were staying in Óbidos for another week and were planning to drive to Porto to stay there for a couple of nights, but we were at the end of our trip and needed to go back to Lisbon, as we had a very early flight back to the UK the following day.
So, after breakfast, we left my friend’s villa and drove to Óbidos to spend a few hours there before our next visit and our driving to Lisbon.
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ÓBIDOS
Óbidos is a very typical Portuguese town with history dating from 713 when the Moors established themselves in the area.
Subsequently King Afonso Henriques took the town from the Moors in 1148. It was also damaged by the earthquake of 1755 with the loss of many buildings with Arab and medieval architecture.
Nevertheless, the town is still attractive and is very touristic, being visited by thousands of people in the high season.
VISITING ÓBIDOS
We parked the car at a car park in the entrance to the town and where the Tourist Office is. From there, we walked to Porta da Vila and entered Rua Direita.
Porta da Vila is the gate to enter the town. It is decorated with painted tiles and is very beautiful. Rua Direita is the main road in town where you will find all the shops and restaurants.
On this road you will also find lots of shops selling the local drink “Ginginha”, a type of cherry liqueur.
Rua Direita takes you to Óbidos Castle and gives access to the town walls, however the castle is not open for visitation as it was converted into a hotel some years ago. You can visit the garden and the walls of the castle though.
We didn’t walk on top of the walls this time as we had already done that on a previous trip; we just enjoyed the beautiful town with its charming houses and pretty gardens.
Óbidos is not very big and it is possible to visit in a couple of hours.
Once we saw everything we wanted, we headed back to the car and drove to our next visit which was “Bacalhôa Buddha Eden” in the outskirts of Óbidos.
If you want to visit Óbidos with a day tour from Lisbon, you can book this one HERE that besides Óbidos it will also take you to Batalha (very beautiful monastery), Fátima (a town that is home to the Sanctuary of Fátima, a Catholic pilgrimage site) and Nazaré (a famous beach town in the area).
Bacalhôa Buddha Eden was created on Quinta dos Loridos (a wine producing estate).
It is the largest oriental garden in Europe. On this garden you can find Buddhas, pagodas, terracotta warriors, lakes, and lots of green spaces.
The garden was created as a protest to the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan in the Afghanistan by the terrorist group Taliban. It is a place of peace and tranquillity without any religious links.
Everybody can enjoy this garden; entrance is free and there is a tourist train to take you for a tour of the garden. The garden is very beautiful, and the statues and lake make it very special.
They have a restaurant/café and we stopped for lunch before exploring the garden. The food was self-service and charged by the kilo. They had very tasteful dishes and the price was very inviting.
After lunch, we took the little train and spent the most agreeable afternoon exploring the garden.
We drove to Lisbon at the end of the afternoon and checked at Lutecia Smart Design Hotel, close to the airport to make things easier for our early flight next day.
In resume, we had a wonderful week in Portugal despite getting some days of rain. Portugal is a beautiful country with plenty of history and places to visit. We have been there many times before and will always return to see more.
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR VISIT
Below you will find a list of what to visit, where to stay and where to eat in Óbidos and around. I classified each place as follows:
BOLD – Visited, tried and recommended
NOT BOLD – Not visited or tried, but planning to visit or try and heard very good reviews
RED – Visited and tried but do not recommend, avoid or be cautious
*** – Excellent
** – Good
* – OK
£££ – Expensive
££ – Fair and affordable
£ – Cheap
WHAT TO SEE IN ÓBIDOS AND AROUND
1 – Lagoa de Óbidos – ***
2 – Óbidos Old Town – ***
3 – Óbidos Wall – ***
4 – Bacalhôa Buddha Eden – ***
WHERE TO STAY IN ÓBIDOS AND AROUND
1 – Pousada Castelo de Óbidos – 4* – £££
2 – Casa Senhoras Rainhas – 4* – ££
3 – Hotel Vila D’Obidos – 4* – ££
4 – Lutecia Smart Design Hotel – Lisbon near the airport – 4* – ££
WHERE TO EAT IN ÓBIDOS AND AROUND
1 – Restaurant Pousada Castelo de Óbidos – ££
2 – Alcaide – ££
3 – Pretenciosa – ££
If you tried any of my recommendations above, please send me a message and tell me about your experience good or bad, so I can update the list accordingly. Thanks!
If you enjoyed this post you might also like to read:
Leave a Reply