PORTUGAL: OBIDOS CASTLE

 June 26, 2022

After swooning over the basilica and palace in Mafra, we headed north towards Óbidos, a distance of about 45 miles. (We never had to drive very far in Portugal to get to the next amazing destination.)

No urban sprawl here. We drove through some beautiful country. This windmill looks just like the ones near us.

A UNESCO Heritage Site, Óbidos is a small village of about 3,000 people perched on a hill and well worth a stop. (If all you ever see of Portugal is the big cities, you have really missed out.) In the 12th century, King Dinis took his future wife to Óbidos, and she was smitten by its charm and beauty. He gave her the city as a wedding present, and every Portuguese king for the next 700 years continued the tradition.

The village's main attraction is its castle, one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. Sadly, it has been turned into an upscale hotel and is off limits to tourists, but visitors are welcome to walk around the property.

The castle courtyard:

Almost a mile of high stone walls encircles the town, and tourists are allowed access to them via steep, crumbling stairs.

No kidding it's dangerous. Look closely at the sidewalk and the walkway next to the parapet. Do you see any railings? Nope.

The upper walkway offers incredible views of the surrounding countryside, but the walkway is also 30 to 40 feet high with NO railing, nothing to prevent a stumble over an uneven surface that might result in a fall bigger and more disastrous than Humpty Dumpty's. We walked up the steep stairs that were two to three feet wide with no railing, and we walked a little way on the wall, but it was windy and I had a major attack of acrophobia, not something I usually struggle with, but I managed to take a few photos over the parapet.

Looking down at the courtyard, you can see the rail-less stairs on the left.

I was happy to return to the flat, comforting, safe courtyard.

We left the castle grounds to explore the rest of the town.

A broad cobblestone sidewalk leads away from the castle, narrowing as it approaches a stretch of quaint shops and restaurants (aka "Tourist Lane").

We passed by churches (closed) and admired the picturesque side streets.

This looks like it could be inside a church, but it is the city gate. I do love the Portuguese azulejos.

And speaking of love, we found the Óbidos Chocolate House.

We had a nice sampling of the Chocolate House's specialties, including a delicious Brazilian brigadeiro, two very tasty chocolate truffles, a mediocre lime cupcake . . .

. . . and a very large passion fruit macaron that Bob declared to be the "best macaron he'd ever had."

This wasn't the best castle that we visited on our trip, not by a long shot, but I like its backstory and it is memorable for its dangerous walls. I just wish we could have gone inside.