Sítio da Nazaré
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.
