Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Main Gate:
Enter through the main gate in Óbidos' 14th-century wall. Stop to gaze up
at the scenes related to the town's history—depicting centuries of battles and religion in
blue-and-white tiles. Tiles like these covered the entire face of the walls here until the
1755 quake shook them down.
Step into the town, and like Dorothy entering a medieval Oz, you're confronted by
two wonderful cobbled lanes. The top lane is the town's main drag, littered with tourists
shopping and leading straight through Óbidos to its castle (ahead, you can see its square
tower, where this walk finishes).
Town Wall:
After entering the old town through the main gate, notice the steep stairs
(to your left) accessing the scenic if treacherous sentry path along the wall (other access
points are near the castle/
pousada,
and uphill from the main church). You'll get views of
the city and surrounding countryside from the 45-foot-high walls. The west (uphill) wall
is best, letting you look over the town's white buildings with red roofs and blue or yellow
trim. You can almost gaze at the Atlantic, six miles away. Until the 1100s, when the bay
silted up, the ocean was half as far away, making this a hilltop citadel guarding a natural
port. The aqueduct is from the 16th century.
