We'll be driving from Lisbon to Nazare via Obidos this September. But I'm wondering now if we should skip Obidos. Others on this forum have said that it is lovely but very touristy. I was thinking that we would go to Tomar instead. We won't get to Tomar otherwise. Any suggestions?

I was there (obidos) in late Sept and the crowds, at least on a week day, were no hindrance to enjoying one of the very finest medieval-looking walled cities in Europe IMO - have not been to Tomar so cannot compare.

Nazare i really loved - based there and went to Alcobaca, Batalha and Coimbra.

Lily.....I found Obidos (oo-bee-doosh) to be as inviting as Palenque describes...also Nazare', especially up on the clifftop (Sitio). The "very touristy" remarks some time get old...look at it this way...if it wasn't an attractive site tourists wouldn't go there. Try to get Tomar in also...it's not that far off.

Enjoy your trip...
Stu T.

so stu, my friend, is Tomar Obidoesque? Again have never been there - or is it more a modern town with an old center?

curious

Tomar has an old town center. We stumbled on what must have been the old Jewish quarter at the base of the hill. But the monastery is spectacular in that one can freely wander all over and see its kitchen, refectory and hallways containing the monks' cells. It has multiple courtyards, one of which still has a functional cistern (I walked down a narrow circular staircase in the courtyard until I hit water). I can't compare it to Obidos because I did not see this town, and for me the town of Tomar is of secondary importance, but I much preferred
Tomar to Batalha. It also was much less crowded.

Thanks everyone. Looks like I'll just have to edit my itinerary to find time for both Obidos and Tomar. Much appreciate your responses, Lily

Palenque

Tomar is, as Michael describes, quite different from Obidos. Hope she can do both, though.
stu

Maybe you can help with my itinerary to be able to see both towns. We will be leaving Lisbon around 10:00am on a Monday morning and planned to go to Obidos on the way for a couple of hours including lunch then go on to Nazare arriving there mid afternoon. The next morning we were hoping to go to Fatima, Alcobaca and Batalha then get back mid afternoon or so for the festivies in Nazare(Festas da Nazaré). On this day we could go to Tomar as well or instead of Batalha? The following day we are driving to Porto via Bucoco. We can't miss Fatima but all the other towns are negotiable! Any suggestions as to how we could revamp this?

Monday - Lisbon to Nazare via Obidos - include Alcobaca here?
Tuesday - Daytrip from Nazare to Fatima plus Alcobaca, Batalha or Fatima plus Tomar?
Wednesday-Nazare to Porto via Bucoco or ?

Thanks for all your help!

Hi, Lily,
This is one of these little geometry puzzles I like to try to play around with. And of course, the feasibility depends on how early you like to get up and going and how late it stays light at the time you will be making the trip.

If you leave Lisbon around 10, you should be parked and in Obidos by 11. Depending on how much you want to do there (you can walk around on the castle ramparts, see the couple of streets with tourist stuff, go to the pousada in the castle) and depending on the kind of lunch you want (long and leisurely or just to refuel), I think you could be out of Obidos by 2. Alcobaca is about 40 km away, most on superhighway, so you will have plenty of time to visit the monastery/church and visit the old part of town in late afternoon. Nazare is under a half hour drive from Alcobaca.

Tuesday -- Just for fun, I made a google map circle from Nazare to Batalha to Fatima to Tomar and back to Nazare. It's a total drive of 218 km, total time estimated to be 3 hours 18 minutes. Breaking it down into segments:

Nazare to Batalha -- 44 km, 41 minutes
Batalha to Fatima -- 19 km, 26 minutes
Fatima to Tomar -- 34 km, 43 minutes
Tomar to Nazare -- 115 km, 1 hour 27 minutes

I think whether you would enjoy 3 major destinations in one day depends on what you want to do at each place and how much you mind driving around. I would calculate the number of hours you plan to be out of Nazare, deduct the driving time (with some wiggle room for error), and then see how much visiting time you're left with. Batalha and Fatima are easily do-able in a one day trip from Nazare, and whether or not you want to add Tomar just depends on you. Or of course you could substitute Tomar for Batalha.

As between Tomar and Batalha (since Fatima is non-negotiable), your choice is between probably the most beautiful gothic church in Portugal, just incredibly light high columns, lovely light, etc., or, in Tomar, a really nice small city with a pretty impressive monastery up on a hill. The down town old part of Tomar is quite pretty too, it runs along a river, has some nice old squares, churches, cafes and shops. And the oldest synogogue in Portugal is there. It has some incredibly old engraved headstones and the horseshoe arches inside are beautiful.

Lastly Nazare to Porto. I personally think a detour to Bucaco is long and not really worth it. The hotel in Bucaco is one of the most unusual places to stay in Portugal, and it's in a lovely forest with lots of nice walks, but not something I'd drive an hour or so to see. If it were me, I'd make a couple hour stop at Coimbra to visit the old university, old town, cathedral, walk along the river, and if you like the Coimbra pottery, there is a lot available. Or, in the alternative, if you're a fan of Roman ruins, the site at Conimbriga is Portugal's biggest. I remember reading a bad review of those ruins here on this site, and it's true, the mosaics are all covered with a roof, but I enjoyed myself there and learned a lot about the Romans in Portugal. The roof is for preservation purposes, they say, but it is try that there are many well preserved outdoor Roman mosaics that are uncovered and exposed, so maybe that's not necessary.

Anyway, that's just my two cents worth. Laurie

Dear Laurie,thanks so much for taking the time to formulate this. It gives us much to think about and is very helpful in rethinking our tour routes. I'm leaning towards skipping Tomar - we know that we can't see everything and so we'll leave it for next time. And thanks for your insight into Bucoco - I had wondered about skipping Coimbra and sounds like we should add it back in. Thanks again Laurie. We'll also be using your walking tour of Lisbon!