Alcobaça Monastery, 13 km away

What it is and why it matters

The Monastery of Santa Maria de Alcobaça is the great Cistercian abbey of Portugal and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1989. In 1153 the first king, Afonso Henriques, gave these lands to Bernard of Clairvaux, and the order built here one of its largest monasteries. The present church was begun in 1178 and consecrated in 1252: it was the first great Gothic building in Portugal, about 106 metres long, with a very tall, bare nave with almost no decoration, as the Cistercian rule demanded. It is about 13 km from Nazaré.

What you see

• The church, long, tall and white, with three aisles of the same height. It impresses with its light and scale rather than its ornament.
• The tombs of Pedro I and Inês de Castro, in the transept, facing each other, in their original position since 1956. They are two Gothic sepulchres of carved stone with one of the best-known love stories of the Iberian Peninsula: the king had Inês crowned after her death. It is said they are placed this way so that on Judgement Day the first thing each sees on rising is the other.
• The Cloister of Silence, or of King Dinis, built between 1308 and 1311, with a 16th-century upper storey. It is so called because talking was forbidden there.
• The kitchen, enormous, covered in tiles, with a monumental chimney and a channel of water running under the floor, brought from the River Alcoa.
• The refectory, with three aisles and about 620 m², and the dormitory, more than 66 metres long, where the monks all slept together.
• The Hall of Kings, with statues of the kings of Portugal and 18th-century blue tile panels telling the story of the foundation.

Opening hours, closures and price

According to Museus e Monumentos de Portugal, from 1 November to 31 March it opens from 9:00 to 17:30, with last entry at 17:00; from 1 April to 31 October, from 9:00 to 18:30, with last entry at 18:00. It is closed on 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 20 August (Alcobaça's public holiday) and 25 December.

General admission costs €15 and gives access to the monastic buildings. Tickets are bought at the ticket office or through the online sales of Museus e Monumentos de Portugal; check there for discounts.

How long to allow

An hour and a half for the church and monastery at an easy pace. If you want to linger at the tombs and the kitchen, two hours.

Getting there and parking

From Nazaré it is about 15 minutes by car inland. The monastery is in the centre of Alcobaça, on a large square; park in the town centre and walk over.

With children

The scale of the building, the kitchen with water under the floor and the story of Pedro and Inês all work for them. Allow less time with them: a good hour. The rooms are spacious and cool in summer.

To complete the day

Combine it with Nazaré: the morning in Alcobaça and the afternoon on Praia da Nazaré or in the Sítio, going up on the funicular.