Óbidos

Óbidos is a small hilltop town in the Oeste, about 80 km north of Lisbon, still wrapped in its medieval walls. For children, the draw is simple: you can climb up and walk along the top. The walls run 1,565 metres all the way round, with square and round towers along the way and a walkway (the adarve) behind a crenellated parapet. In places they rise to 13 metres, so choose your section with small children and keep hold of hands. Toddlers who aren’t going up get plenty from the maze of white lanes inside.

The town is free to wander, and it is one of the region’s big tourist draws, so the lanes are busiest at weekends, in summer and during festivals. It works well as a half-day trip from Lisbon or as part of a Silver Coast tour, with the beaches and the Óbidos lagoon a short drive away.

You come in through the Porta da Vila, the main gate. It was built in the 14th century, in the reign of King Fernando, as a double gate with a bend in the middle, so attackers couldn’t charge straight through. Inside the passage is a little chapel with a balcony and blue and white tiles from around 1740, showing scenes from the Passion of Christ. Point out the bend and ask children why it’s there before you tell them.

From the gate, Rua Direita runs uphill to the castle. It already had that name in the 14th century, probably because it was the direct route to the top. It is lined with shops, cafés and places selling ginjinha, the local cherry liqueur served in a small chocolate cup. That drink is for grown-ups.

Halfway along is the Praça de Santa Maria, the main square. The stone pillar in the middle is the pelourinho, or pillory, where wrongdoers were once put on show. One side carries the royal arms and the other a fishing net, the symbol of Queen Leonor. Next to it, the Igreja de Santa Maria was a mosque before the town was taken in 1148. Inside, the walls are covered in 17th-century blue and white tiles, and there is an altarpiece by the painter Josefa d’Óbidos, which may be the only one of her works still in its original place.

At the top is the castle. It began as a Roman and then Moorish fortification, and was repaired and enlarged many times after 1148. The 1755 earthquake badly damaged it, and by the 20th century it was a ruin. It was rebuilt as the first state pousada (historic hotel) in a historic building, and it is still a hotel today, so treat it as a sight from outside rather than a castle to explore.

Outside the walls, the aqueduct begun in 1573 for Queen Catarina carried water about 3 km to the town’s fountains. It is easy to spot from the car parks.

Óbidos has a good story for children. King Afonso Henriques took it from the Moors on 11 January 1148, which is still the local holiday. In 1282 King Dinis and Queen Isabel spent their honeymoon here, and he gave her the town as a wedding present. From then until 1834 it belonged to every Portuguese queen. In 1441 a prince aged ten married a princess aged eight in Óbidos, a fact that tends to get a reaction. In 1808 the first cannon shots of the Battle of Roliça, Napoleon’s first defeat in the Peninsular War, were fired from here.

Óbidos was named a UNESCO City of Literature in 2015, and old buildings around town were turned into bookshops. The best known is the Livraria de Santiago, set up in 2013 inside a church on Largo de Santiago. The tourist office lists it as open every day from 10:00 to 19:00, though check before you plan around it.

The town’s children’s bookshop, Bichinho de Conto, is a different story. It lost its home in an old primary school, and when we checked its website said the shop door was closed while it waits for news. Its online shop was still running.

The Museu Municipal on Rua Direita has religious art and paintings, including works by Josefa d’Óbidos. It suits older children with an interest in art more than little ones, and it closes on Mondays. At Gaeiras, about 1 km from the walls, a small museum holds a collection on the French invasions of 1808 to 1814, with weapons, maps and a scale model of the Lines of Torres Vedras. It opens on weekday mornings only.

For older children and teenagers there is an escape room, Escape Tower, set in a tower on Largo de São Tiago, with a game built around two of the town’s queens. When we checked it cost from €40 for two players up to €60 for five or six, booked through its website.

Homeschool groups can book guided visits through the council. The Óbidos Visto pelas Crianças programme includes a two-hour visit for pre-school and early primary children where they meet “queens” and finish with a puppet show about the taking of the castle, and a visit plus peddy paper (a treasure-hunt quiz around town) for bigger groups. These need a minimum group size and advance booking, so ask the tourist office about current prices.

Three big events fill the town, and each has its own ticketed site. The Chocolate Festival runs over several weekends in spring, the Medieval Market takes over the streets on July evenings, and Óbidos Vila Natal turns the town into a Christmas village from late November. See What’s on for the usual pattern of each. They are great fun and very busy; a child who hates crowds will prefer an ordinary weekday.

Park outside the walls. The main car parks are paid and sit next to the tourist office, a short walk from the gate. If you come by bus, the stop is about 100 metres from the old town.

The lanes are cobbled and steep, with steps up onto the walls, so a sling or carrier copes better than a buggy. Bring hats and water in summer, since you are out in the sun on the walls, and keep toddlers in hand up there.

For lunch, there are plenty of cafés and restaurants on and off Rua Direita. For a swim afterwards, the Óbidos municipal pools are close by, and Praia do Bom Sucesso is on the Óbidos lagoon. The golden Buddhas of Buddha Eden in Bombarral and the park and boating lake at Parque D. Carlos I in Caldas da Rainha are both a short drive away.

Is Óbidos free to visit?

Yes. Walking the lanes and the walls costs nothing. You pay for parking, museums, the escape room and the festivals.

Can children walk on the walls of Óbidos?

Yes, and it is the highlight for most. The walls are up to 13 metres high, so keep small children close and pick a short section if they are wobbly on steps.

Can you take a buggy to Óbidos?

You can get a buggy along Rua Direita, but the lanes are steep and cobbled and the walls are reached by steps. A carrier is much easier.

How long do you need in Óbidos?

Two to three hours covers the main street, a stretch of wall and a snack. Allow most of a day if you add lunch, a museum or a festival.

How do you get to Óbidos from Lisbon without a car?

Rodoviária do Oeste buses run many times a day and stop about 100 metres from the old town. The train is slower, about two and a half hours, and the station is about 1 km from the walls.