Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 9am-7pm Apr-Sep, 9am-6pm Oct-Nov)
The 17th-century, baroque Igreja de Nossa Senhora da
Nazaré, decorated with attractive Dutch
azulejos
, is on the Promontório do Sítio and
holds the much-venerated sculpture of the Virgin, said to have been made by Joseph him-
self in Nazareth when Jesus was a baby: hence the name of the town. For €0.50, you can
get up close and personal with the statue itself - it's not too often that you get the chance
to appear in the middle of an altarpiece.
Look out for paintings of a deer in midair that refer to the legend of the Virgin's appear-
ance here. Though the fall was tragic for the animal itself, its look of surprise is difficult
not to snigger at.
Festivals & Events
Carnaval
One of Portugal's brashest Mardi Gras celebrations, with lots of costumed parades and
general irreverence. Lots of people dress up and the nights go loud and long.
MARDI GRAS
Festa do Mar
Held every year on the first weekend in May, this festival features fireworks at midnight, a
parade with floats dedicated to local patron saints and a procession of decorated boats
around Nazaré's harbour.
RELIGIOUS
Nossa Senhora da Nazaré
This annual pilgrimage, held in Sítio on 8 September and the following weekend, is Naz-
aré's big religious festival, featuring sombre processions, folk dances and bullfights.
RELIGIOUS
FISHING, THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY
Long gone are Nazaré's days as a traditional fishing village, but tourists can still get a taste of the old ways on
Saturdays throughout May and June during the
Arte Xávega
festival. In the morning, locals set off in pointy-
prowed
xávega
boats to lay out the gigantic nets typical of this stretch of coast, a process that takes many hours.
Then at 4pm, townspeople gather on the beach, men in berets and women in shawls and kerchiefs, and begin to
draw the nets in - sometimes with the help of teams of oxen. Watching is colourful enough, but tourists are also
welcome to help haul. Fish is sold on the spot as soon as it comes out of the net.
Sleeping
