Óbidos is like its signature ginjinha (cherry liqueur): a sweet chocolate-clad treat with a cherry on top. Wrapped in crenelated walls, the well-preserved hilltop medieval village is a storybook tangle of azure- and canary-hemmed whitewashed homes, churches and monuments. It’s one of Portugal’s prettiest and most popular destinations, with many travelers taking the brisk one-hour bus ride for a day trip out of Lisbon.
Yet Óbidos’s anecdotes are arguably best savored slowly. Bibliophiles can lose themselves in the pages of this UNESCO City of Literature. All will feel regal when slumbering in the Vila das Rainhas’ – meaning Town of the Queens – old-world castle. And those who venture beyond the walls will encounter Óbidos as a coast-caressing municipality, not merely a medieval marvel. Complemented with a crowded calendar of visit-worthy festivals, Óbidos’ best experiences are as tempting as a box of chocolates.
1. Be inspired by azulejos before painting your own
Óbidos doesn’t waste any time in dazzling. Between the double-doorway Porta da Vila, the town’s tower-like entrance gate, a rich welcome of baroque blue and white azulejos (hand-painted ceramic tiles) flank the balcony’s oratory dedicated to Óbidos’s patron saint, Nossa Senhora da Piedade. More magical ceramics await in the town’s show-stealing sacred centerpiece, Igreja de Santa Maria, its walls clad with 17th-century tiles, inspiring the local embroidery work.
Suitably inspired yourself, head to sidestreet Casa dos Azulejos, where Maria Daniela creates impeccable azulejos using the tin-glazed, majolica method. Find a gift, or, better still, pre-book a workshop to learn one of Portugal’s most influential art forms from a master, crafting a far more memorable souvenir of your own design.
Detour: Find abundant (and often amusing) ceramics in Caldas da Rainha, a once royalty-revered spa town, a brief train ride north. Home to Bordallo Pinheiro Factory, named for and founded by one of Portugal’s most renowned ceramic artists with a penchant for cabbage-styled pottery, the factory store’s prices are usually a bargain compared to boutiques.
2. Meander down medieval alleyways
Getting lost within the walls of compact Óbidos is challenging, but it’s a delight to try. And while an amble along well-trodden Rue Direta, the main thoroughfare linking Porta da Vila to the castle, will give your camera and carteria (purse) a workout, it’s admittedly become rather touristy. To see why the Portuguese voted Óbidos one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal, snake your way across the town, detouring to every bougainvillea-veiled corner.
En route, Óbidos’s history unfurls across Queen-linked churches. First bestowed to the Queen Consort by King Afonso II in 1210, Óbidos continued to be a (rather excessive) traditional royal wedding gift until the 19th century. Igreja da Misericórdia, Queen Leonor’s church in the former Jewish Quarter, is especially worth a glance to admire the azulejos and adjacent tower before crossing under the Arco da Cadeia, a prison in the Middle Ages, now an appointment-only house museum.
Detour: Beyond the walls, Queen Isabel-founded Igreja de São João Baptista, housing an undersized sacred art collection, and baroque Santuário do Senhor da Pedra are worth a brief detour.
3. Satisfy your sweet tooth with sour cherries and chocolate
Given nearly every other doorway along Rua Direita is garnished with a sign for Ginjinha de Óbidos, the town’s signature dark red cherry-infused aguardiente (firewater), it would be almost criminal not to satisfy your sweet tooth cravings. Especially as the small, sippable shot is often served in a chocolate cup.
Dip into any bar or shop – long-standing, bottle-dangling Bar Ibn Errik Rex is a characterful pick – and order it simple, in chocolate, or com ginja (with sour morello cherry) if you feel like the alcohol-infused fruit floating inside. While the history of ginjinha is a little hazy – it’s generally accepted that a 17th-century monk brewed the first batch – you can see the process on a tasting-ending factory tour at Ginja Mariquinhas in Gaeiras.
Planning tip: Come for Óbidos’s International Chocolate Festival during the first few weekends in March for an even sweeter visit. Or, walk the two-hour, out-of-town Rota dos Ginjais trail to witness nearby Sobral da Lagoa’s morello trees in bloom, usually from mid-April until mid-May.
4. Spend a night in Óbidos Castle
Constructed by the Moors and later converted into a royal palace – a wedding gift from King Dinis to Queen Santa Isabel – the hulking, multi-turreted Castelo de Óbidos is as storied as they come. Sadly, for those keen to poke around inside, its latest incarnation is as a Pousada, the countrywide group of heritage hotels, limiting access to guests only.
Consider slumbering in the historic quarters for a night if your schedule allows. Staying in a pousada (upmarket inn) is one of Portugal’s best experiences, especially if you snag the split-level, exposed stone, four-poster bed suite. Rooms aside, the armored statues, azulejos and regal canvases all embellish the Óbidos experience. Romantics can even get married here, following in the footsteps of Portuguese royalty.
Planning tip: If you’re tight on time but keen for a glimpse inside, make a reservation for lunch in the castle’s wooden-beamed, azulejo-lined dining room. Try to request a table in the cubbyhole windows for a panoramic view framed by twisted rope-like Manueline columns.
5. Relish golden hour from atop the mighty Moorish walls
If you think Óbidos is postcard-pretty from Rue Direta, wait until you see it from above. Schlep your way up the stone stairs near the castle or Porta da Vila onto the 8th-century, Moorish-built fortified walls to circle much of the village, peering down upon the labyrinth of whitewashed streets, little courtyard gardens and photographing the verdant panoramas spilling down the slopes. It’s particularly magical around sunset as golden light bathes the vineyard-dressed landscape. From above, you can also better appreciate the mighty 16th-century Aqueduto da Usseira, constructed under Queen Catherine of Austria’s watchful eye.
Planning tip: While heavily restored in the 20th century, the ramparts have no guardrails, which can be daunting on an often over 20m-high (65ft) wall. If you’re traveling with kids or uncomfortable with heights, take extra care. Either way, it’s advisable to descend before dark.
6. Appreciate local artistry, from canvas to embroidery
Look no further than the Figueira family to understand how art-inspiring this town is. Baltazar Gomes Figueira, born in Óbidos at the turn of the 17th century, and his daughter, Josefa, who adopted the town’s name as her artistic surname signature, were two of Portugal’s most prolific baroque artists.
Much of Josefa’s work is on display in Museu Municipal, with a few notable paintings by father and daughter inside Igreja de Santa Maria – the church whose tiles have inspired the motifs and pair of stickwork patterns used in Óbidos embroidery since the 1950s. Enquire at the Espaço Ó cultural hub about workshops to learn the craft from local artisans, or visit Oficina de Barro to discover verguinha, an ancestral Italian clay-weaving technique imported to the town.
7. Find your next good book in this City of Literature
With abundant books in beautiful spaces, bibliophiles have long been drawn to Óbidos, designated a UNESCO City of Literature in 2015. If you’re searching for a new novel, peruse the dozen-odd livrarias (bookstores) or al fresco book exchange spots around town. Livraria de Santiago, housed inside a former church, and barn-like Livraria de Mercado are two of the largest within the walls.
Livraria Artes e Letras, just outside, hawks some antique titles in an old wine cellar. New book secured, spend a night at the Literary Man, a converted convent hotel where the common spaces, Japanese restaurant and gin bar are lined with book-stacked shelves.
Planning tip: Join fellow bookworms at April’s Literature and Travellers Festival (LATITUDES) or Óbidos International Literature Festival (FOLIO) hosted in September or October.
8. Celebrate medieval memories or a castle-backed Christmas
Come in July, and there’s no need to imagine medieval Óbidos. Much of the month is dedicated to the Mercado Medieval, a mammoth event that transports the town back to the Middle Ages. Costumed reenactments, jousting, flame-hurling dancers and all-encompassing medieval merriment, including mead and roasting meats, engulf the whole walled village, making it one of the best times to visit.
Prefer a (hopefully) sunny, castle-backed Christmas market? December’s ticketed Vila Natal is a fine spot of festive cheer, as twinkling lights and projections illuminate the towers and market stalls, and crafts and kid-friendly performances annex the area fronting the castle.
Planning tip: If you’re in Portugal over Easter, visit Óbidos during Semana Santa (Holy Week) for a taste of the medieval experience during the torchlit procession.
9. Retreat to a bird-sheltering, lagoon-backed beach
Most visitors rarely make it beyond the walled village, but the municipality of Óbidos is more than its medieval marvel. The district stretches west, encompassing the bird-haven lagoon – boat trips depart from near Covão dos Musaranhos – and a sweep of sand along the Costa de Prata (Silver Coast). Linger for a while, and you’ll uncover a laid-back, locally-loved destination perfect for a beach getaway.
Find kitesurfing and SUP schools on the lagoon’s southern edge, separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the sensational swirling sands and cyan waters of Praia do Bom Sucesso beach. Birders will relish the Ecovia da Lagoa, a lagoon-circling trail now visited by flamingos during winter’s migration.
Detour: Óbidos is close to many other Central Portugal coastal highlights. Peniche, the gateway to the protected Berlengas Islands, and Nazaré, home of the world’s biggest rideable waves, are within a 30-minute drive.
10. Chow down on a caldeirada de peixe paired with provincial wines
With Portugal’s largest coastal lagoon, the Lagoa de Óbidos, on its doorstep, caldeirada de peixe, a bubbling fish stew of peppers, tomatoes and the seasonal local catch – perhaps bass, eel, bream, clams and mussels – is the local dish to try. You’ll still find fisher communities and huts dotting the crustacean-heavy lagoon, collecting their catch using traditional, small bateira boats.
To savor it lagoon-side, book Covão dos Musaranhos and request the caldeirada a day ahead. Try to pair it with an Óbidos DOC (Controlled Denomination of Origin) wine, or to guarantee a local sip, book a tasting at Quinta Do Sanguinhal, a family-run, century-old winery.
Detour: Blend wine and art at the wholly unexpected Bacalhôa Buddha Eden, a 10-minute drive south. Set on Quinta dos Loridos’ wine estate, this vast oriental garden pays homage to Afghanistan’s destroyed Buddhas of Banyan, completed with a sometimes perplexing array of “terracotta warriors,” lake-crowning pagodas and sculptures. Pre-book wine tastings in advance; purchase garden tickets on arrival.
