64 Best Sights in Estremadura and the Ribatejo, Portugal

The perfect horseshoe-shape bay here, 12 miles west of Alcobaça, makes this one of Portugal's prettiest beaches, lapped by calm waters that are safe for children. The ample strand—patrolled by lifeguards so long as beach cafés are open—has fine, yellow sand (cleaned daily) and areas with sunshades for rent. Much of it is lined with well-preserved dunes; at its northern end, set back from the promenade, are elegant old homes in the typical Caldas style, restaurants, and many hotels. The beach is popular with local families, so don't come in high summer if you dislike crowds. Local companies offer boating and canoeing trips. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (no fee); toilets; water sports. Best for: sunset; swimming; walking.

This long-running festival offers two weeks in late July to mid-August of top-quality piano music. Most concerts in Óbidos (there are a few in Caldas da Rainha) are staged in the compact Casa da Música near the main gate, and given the town's small size you may well end up rubbing shoulders with a star performer—or even Portugal's president, the event's patron—during your stay.

To catch a glimpse of what was once hailed as "the most picturesque fishing village in Portugal," either climb the precipitous trail or take the Ascensor da Nazaré, a scenic funicular (€2.50 one way, €4 return), to the top of a 361-foot cliff to visit the settlement called Sítio (literally, "Place"). Clustered at the cliff's edge overlooking the beach is a small community of fishermen who live in tiny cottages and seem unaffected by all that's happening below. On this promontory stands the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Nazaré, a predominately baroque church with a tiled and gilded interior that houses a figure of the Virgin Mary said to have been carved by Joseph himself in Nazareth—hence the town's name. Its cloisters harbor a free museum with naive paintings of local miracles; in the shrine itself, for €1.50 you can enter the sacristy for a close-up look at the image.

The royal complex in and around Mafra, classified as UNESCO World Heritage in 2019, includes 1,200 hectares purchased in 1744 by João V, who then enclosed the land with a 21-km stone wall in order to hunt at leisure. Two-thirds of this area is now the protected National Hunting Grounds of Mafra, a forest teeming with indigenous species: around 30 mammals, from fallow and roe deer to tiny shrews, 70 kinds of bird, and more than 20 different amphibians and reptiles, along with various macrofungi and 100 or so other types of plant. For most of the year visitors may explore independently on foot (or by rented bike), using the marked trails; in summer various experiences are on offer, including demonstrations with birds of prey, tours in an electric minibus or, on weekends, a miniature train. The entrance to the Tapada is a 10-minute drive from the palace at Mafra.