If you’ve ever visited a walled medieval city (like Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, France or vibrant San Juan, Puerto Rico), you might think you know all the things to do in Obidos, and exactly what it will be like. Does it have crowds and families with strollers on narrow cobbled streets that are lined with tons of souvenir shops and tiny, overpriced restaurants? Absolutely. But it also has whitewashed buildings, a beautiful castle, some unexpected and innovative bookshops, and more charm and beauty than you can shake a stick at. If you’ve ever wanted to truly walk through the history of Portugal Obidos is definitely a great place to start.

Get a feel for medieval Portuguese architecture

• 

• 

Obidos has an extremely long history, dating back to territory and a settlement of Celts, which was then used by Phoenicians, Romans, Visigoths, and Moors. By about halfway through the 12th century (in 1148CE, specifically), Dom Afonso Enriques (pronounced “en-REE-kesh” – you’ll hear about him a lot, as he was the first king of Portugal) had claimed the area around Obidos, and had brought it under his rule by taking back the city of Obidos, itself.

Since then, the city was gifted to a subsequent king’s wife, and it has thus been remodeled, maintained, and patronized by the Queens of Portugal. This care and attention from the monarchy, up through the 1800s, means that the town has kept much of its charm, both cultural and aesthetic.

And, despite being damaged by the 1755 earthquake that rocked all of Portugal, the town has always held strong to its roots, and it never lost the look or values of its past. Make sure you really take your time walking along the most-pedestrian streets and take in the little architectural and aesthetic moments that seem to happen on every corner. Banners, whitewashed walls, bougainvillea, hydrangeas, sweetly cobbled streets, and colorful shutters all make this experience absolutely magical.

Browse the many Obidos bookshops

• 

• 

With the level of nerdery in this relationship, it’s no wonder we both have a love of books and bookstores. I’m absolutely the more voracious book hound between the two of us, so when I discovered that Obidos is famous for its selection of off-beat bookshops, of COURSE that became part of our itinerary. In fact, UNESCO named Obidos a UNESCO Literary City in 2015, a distinction based on the following criteria, courtesy of the Cities of Literature website:

• The historic Town of Óbidos has 3,100 people and over half a million books inside the walled town.
• The Literary Man Hotel is the only literary hotel in Portugal and one of the few in the world.
• Óbidos has a Technology Park oriented towards the creative industries and awarded the Architizer 2015 (category Mix Use) and recognised in the German Design Awards.
• Óbidos in the past decade has remodelled its entire school system and now has 4 brand new school complexes. 

Once there, we had two favorite unconventional bookstores in Obidos: 

1. When you walk into the Livraria do Mercado, you’re greeted with crates on crates of books of all sizes, ages, and languages, from floor to ceiling. As you walk through the space, you’ll see that a not insignificant part of the store is made up of the Mercado Biologico de Obidos – a local, organic green grocer. The juxtaposition and almost seamless melding of nourishment for body and mind wasn’t lost on either of us.
2. You can find our other favorite up the road a bit, just before you get to the castelo. On the map, you’ll see two names marked on one location – the Igreja de São Tiago and the Livraria de Santiago. That’s because the space that used to be a sanctified Catholic church has evolved into a bookstore. In the place where there once were pews, there are now two levels of flowing, mid-century modern shelves of books. And where the altar once stood, there’s an ad hoc seating area for waiting and perusing the goods. And from the doorway, you get quite possibly the best view in Obidos. 

We can’t wait to go back to discover even more!

Try ginja de Obidos at Bar Ibn Errik Rex

• 

• 

If you’ve visited Portugal before, you’ve probably seen plenty of little shops advertising ginja or ginjinha. These both generally refer to Portugal’s famous sour cherry liqueur, which presents with a deep garnet or even a dark purplish color and has the taste of a sweet but tart dessert wine. Ginja de Obidos, however, is a controlled appellation and refers only to ginja made in a specific way within the geographical limits of Obidos. (This works exactly like sparkling wine, which can’t legally be called champagne unless produced within France’s champagne region.) 

When you’re in the walled city of Obidos, just about every restaurant and souvenir shop you see will offer samples and bottles of ginja de Obidos. But there’s only one place you need to go: Bar Ibn Errik Rex. Not just content to look authentic, Bar Ibn Errik Rex is one of the oldest businesses in Obidos. They even make their own house blend/distillation of ginjinha, which they will serve you in a crystal decanter. To our delight, it was the best ginja we had on our entire trip to Portugal! And thankfully, they do sell it by the bottle, as well, so you won’t have to go without once you leave!

Their limited cheese and sausage-based menu means you’ll need to have your main meal elsewhere, but Bar Ibn Errik Rex is 100% worth a stop in Obidos – you won’t regret it.

Where to eat in Obidos

First of all, you won’t be at a loss for places to eat when you visit here. There might just be as many restaurants as there are tourist shops – and several that are a combination of both! And you can definitely grab a light meal or snack with your ginja at Bar Ibn Errik Rex, but if you’re looking for an actual meal, head back towards the entrance to the old walled city, and hang a left. You’ll walk past a couple of restaurants, and then you’ll see the aqueduct coming into view. On the left again, you’ll see a window in the whitewashed wall for ordering at Taberna Pasto da Vila. Every day, they have a blackboard with the offerings for the day sat right in front of the window. 

So, the day we visited they offered soup and a drink, with either a bifana (pork sandwich) or chorizo and bread. If you look behind the register, you’ll notice the wood-fired bread oven – talk about charm. FInally, when you get your food – some days they offer table service, some days they don’t – you can go choose a picnic table with an umbrella to enjoy your meal. Even better, you’ll also get to eat in the shadow of the Obidos aqueduct, a reminder of just how ancient this city’s roots really are.

Stay at the Obidos castle pousada, or walk the city walls

• 

• 

Like many castles in Europe, the castelo de Obidos has been converted into a pousada, or hotel. If you choose not to stay here, you can still check out the exterior of the castle and its gardens. But if you have good balance and aren’t afraid of heights, we’d recommend spending some time walking the walls of the castle and the city. At 13m high and stretching for 1.5km around the city and castle, you’ll have unparalleled views of the medieval town and the surrounding area. 

However, do note that there are no handrails, and these are very old stone battlements, so erosion and time have made them substantially less than even and smooth. If you have balance or mobility issues, are afraid of heights, or are visiting Obidos with children, you might want to skip this bit 😅

Explore the Obidos lagoon (lagoa de Obidos) 

• 

One of the many unique things you’ll find near Obidos is the Obidos lagoon. Just a 30 minute drive to the northwest and you’ll be walking on the lagoa’s sandy beaches and enjoying the calm water. This is a perfect spot for beach-loving families, as well as folks who like a gentler beach experience, as opposed to surfing or otherwise taking advantage of the Atlantic’s more violent waves. Just keep in mind that it’s still the Atlantic, so it certainly won’t be the warmest water you’ve ever taken a dip in.

While you’re there, you can participate in a wide variety of watersports – from SUP to windsurfing – or simply rent chairs and an umbrella to relax on the sand and enjoy the turquoise water and the views.

Birdwatching is also a pastime this area is well-known for. And if you visit in late summer or early fall, you may even spot large bands of migrating flamingos who make a stop in Obidos every year – humans aren’t the only ones who tend to prefer calmer water!

Bonus: Obidos medieval festival, The Medieval Market

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by João Martins Photography 📸 (@jmartins.photography)

Over the course of three 4-day weekends in July and August, visitors to Obidos can hop aboard a TARDIS, phone booth, or any other serviceable time travel machine to get an authentic look at how life in this medieval town would likely have looked. If you’re not either prepared to LARP or casually traveling with your usual Renaissance faire cosplay, have no fear – visiting lordes e damas can rent or buy costumes at the event. After all, you probably want to make sure you’re properly dressed to attend medieval suppers, minstrel shows, and all the other delights you’ll find throughout the town. As you get closer to the castle, you’ll be surrounded by authentic houses, market stalls (offering mostly period-appropriate goods), and all sorts of decor and entertainment that will take you right back in time. If vacations are all about escaping the mundane, then this is an escape from your escape, and one you’ll never forget!

Getting from Lisbon to Obidos

• 

If you’re looking to visit Obidos, driving will be your best bet from Lisbon. It’s about 86km from Portugal’s capital city, which makes about a 1.5 hour drive – not too bad! And perfect for a day trip from Lisbon. Trains and buses are also readily available, but note that they take at least a full hour longer than driving directly.

Another option is to look for local tour operators based in Lisbon who offer excursion trips to Obidos and other nearby towns like Nazare. There are several providers of this sort on AirBNB Experiences, as well as on sites like Viator and Get Your Guide. This way, you get transportation AND a guided experience, just in case wandering and exploring on your own isn’t your cup of tea on this trip.

In addition, you can also use a driving service like DayTrip, like we did, and bake in time in Obidos as a part of your transfer from Lisbon to Porto or vice versa. For a small extra fee, we were able to add Obidos to our itinerary, and we had the pleasure of being shown some of the sights by – and receiving great restaurant recommendations from – our wonderful driver, Ricardo.

Where to park in Obidos

If you’re driving up (or down) to spend the day in the walled city of Obidos, parking is super easy. There are at least 3 lots within a short walking distance of the south-facing door to the city, all of which are easily accessible and free to use. These lots are also fairly large, meaning that unless you visit in the highest of high season or for a large event like the Medieval Market, you shouldn’t have to fight for parking. Even around midday in August, we still found parking with very little trouble. And the best news is that you do NOT have to drive through Obidos, itself – the few cars we did see had a hell of a time navigating the crowds of visitors. You’ll also find designated parking lots on three sides of the Obidos Lagoon, with other parking available intermittently in between.