We are two couples in the early stages of planning a two-week trip to Portugal next April. Our rough outline is to spend several days in Lisbon with day trips outside the city; transfer by private car to Coimbra for a couple of days; and then transfer to Porto for the rest of the trip. (We don’t want to do a lot of hotel switching.) During our transfer from Lisbon to Coimbra we’d like to do some sightseeing and are deciding among Obidos, Nazare, Batalha, Fatima, and Tomar. Could some of you weigh in on which of these we should emphasize and how much we can realistically do in a day? Thank you for your time.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
8782 posts
Óbidos can be seen in a couple hours.
Nazaré is a typical beach town. With limited time I’d bypass it.
Fátima could occupy a half day or more depending on which sites you wanted to see. If you’re only
Interested in the Sanctuary and plaza, they can be visited in under two hours.
Tomar is a nice town. My assumption is the purpose of going there would be to see the castle ruin and Convent of Christ. There’s little remaining of the castle, but the convent is outstanding.
Batalha is worth visiting and has a different feel than the Convent of Christ.
Each, the convent and monastery, can take 2-3 hours to visit. With limited time you’d probably only have time to visit one.
Posted by
Cascais, Portugal
2078 posts
To add even further to your choices, you might want to look up Conimbriga. It’s the remains of a Roman settlement and has some great mosaic floors that are in good condition. It’s very close to Coimbra. Also, Alcobaço is my favorite over Batalha.
Unless you are devout Catholic, you can safely skip Fatima. Nothing there but the religious site.
Tomar and Obidos would likely be my picks of the ones you mentioned. Nazare is really just a beach town.
You cannot realistically do them all. I would say two would fill your day besides the driving.