Costa de Prata stretches along 200 kms in the centre of Portugal from Espinho in the north down to Ericeira. Lagoons, small villages in the hills, castles, forests, the beautiful pine forest Pinhal do Rei, the Berlengas Islands where there is good sea fishing, sandy beaches which are considered to be among the finest in Europe. The Berlenga Grande has been declared a National Bird Reserve. Costa de Prata has a lot to offer and is popular for visitors all year round.

Coimbra, on the banks of the river Mondego, is the mainland's third-largest city. It is an ancient university town with one of the oldest universities in Europe and is also one of Europe's largest university cities. The students, wearing traditional black capes and faculty ribbons, add colour and life to the city. The famous week long festival, the Burning of the Ribbons, takes place in May, after exams.

The 12th-century Sé Cathedral and the Art Museum housed in a former Bishop's Palace are worth a visit. The city is famous for its particular style of Fado (traditional songs, unique to Portugal).

Other towns and villages in the Costa Prata:
Aveiro ("The Venice of Portugal", colourfully painted, graceful swan–necked boats), Conimbriga (with fine remains of a Roman town), Nazaré (a small fishing village with a long beach), Óbidos (a medieval town, completely walled in), Torreira (a typical fishing village), Anadia (the centre of the Bairrada wine), Figueira da Foz (modern beach resort, casino), Leiria (castle built in 1135 on a plateau high above the town, hand–blown glassware), São Martinho (the beach is ideal for families with children).

Aveiro

Famous for its lagoon, this town is criss-crossed by canals where colourfully painted moliceiro boats sail. Deserving special mention: Cathedral (15th-18th centuries) and Gothic cross; Misericórdia Church and São Bartolomeu Chapel; 18th-century churches of Santo António and São Gonçalo. Regional Museum, housed in the ancient Convento de Jesus.

Salt from the sea
The first known written reference to this city dates from the tenth century in the bequest made to the Monastery of Guimarães through the will of Mumadona Dias, where it was described as "terras in Alavario e Salinas" (pastureland and salt-pans). Today, the extraction of salt from the sea is still one of the region's most important economic activities.

Moliceiros
Another traditional activity in the Aveiro region is the harvesting of seaweed to fertilise the crops, carried out with the use of one of the most picturesque types of Portuguese boat, known as moliceiros, whose prows are painted with naïve motifs in vivid colours.
The Ria is a vast lagoon that crosses the city of Aveiro in a tangled web of canals, flanked by a remarkable group of Art Nouveau buildings, the homes of the bourgeoisie who came to settle here towards the end of the nineteenth century.

Dunas de Sao Jacinto
The great highlight of the surrounding region is the Dunas de Sao Jacinto, a nature reserve where it is possible to admire the region's native fauna and flora.

Ovos moles
A special mention should also be made of the region's typical dessert, ovos moles, made from sugar and eggs, which can be bought in small barrels or in the form of different-shaped sweetmeats based on maritime motifs.

Batalha

Is classified in UNESCO's International Heritage list, the Santa Maria da Vitória Monastery (14th-16th centuries) is a national landmark. Special mention must be made to the Founders' Chapel, with its magnificent stain-glassed windows, cloisters, Unfinished Chapels (Manueline) and Chapter Hall.

The town of Batalha developed alongside the Monastery of Santa Maria de Vitória, constructed in 1386 to keep a vow by Portuguese King Dom João I to the Virgin Mary that he would build it if Portugal defeated Castile at the Battle of Aljubarrota on 14th August 1385. Extravagant celebrations commemorating this victory are held next to the monastery in August of every year.
The Monastery of Batalha, a masterpiece of Portuguese Gothic, is a magnificent piece of architecture that combines various influences from its lengthy period of construction, which lasted several reigns. Outstanding in the interior are the Founders´ Chapel with its fine stained-glass windows, the cloisters, the Unfinished Chapels with their Manueline and Flemish Gothic features and the Chapter House.
Timetable: 9am-6pm (Summer) / 9am-5pm (Winter). Closed on national holidays.

Caldas da Rainha

The town owes its name to the thermal spring that was much appreciated by Queen Dona Leonor, wife of the 15th century King Dom Manuel I, who had the opportunity to confirm the curative properties of these waters when they cured her of a wound that for a long time had not healed, although she had tried various treatments.
As the waters were much in demand at the time by the local people, who bathed in them to cure their ailments, the Queen ordered a hospital to be built so that they could treat themselves in some comfort. Around the hospital a village was formed, which came to be known as "Caldas da Rainha" (The Queen's Hot Springs).
The town continued to grow, reaching its heyday in the late 19th and early 20th century, at a time when it was fashionable to take a holiday in a spa resort, and Caldas da Rainha was one of the places chosen by the nobility and aristocracy. During the Second World War, too, the town was chosen as a place of refuge by many foreigners fleeing from persecution by the Nazis.

Figures in Portuguese culture
Caldas was the birthplace of important figures in Portuguese culture, notably the painter José Malhoa (C.19), whose work can be admired in the museum named after him in the Thermal Park (Dom Carlos I garden); also born here was Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, the 19th century caricaturist, who founded the pottery factories of Caldas da Rainha where the popular Caldas pottery began to be manufactured, of which the best known pieces are those containing characteristics of mischievous humour.

Coimbra

One of Europe's oldest university towns, it has kept its secular academic traditions, as seen in the black caped students, in the soulful tones of the fado and in the Burning of the Ribbons (Queima das Fitas). Overlooking the city is the University, with its famous tower and a sumptuous Baroque library. In the adjacent quarters you will find the Old Cathedral (Romanesque) and the Machado de Castro Museum, with its Roman cryptoportico. In the ancient streets, with their medieval walls, arches and stairways, are the Santa Cruz Monastery (founded in 1131), the Church of Santiago and the Monastery of Celas (13th century). On the other bank of the Mondego stands the Santa Clara-a-Nova Convent (Baroque, 17th century). 16 km to the south, lies Conimbriga, the most important Roman remains in Portugal.

Known as the "city of students", Coimbra's history is closely linked to its university, which was founded in 1290 and is one of the oldest in Europe. In the Middle Ages, Coimbra was the capital of Portugal for more than a century, and, after the seat of the University had been transferred back and forth between Lisbon and Coimbra on several occasions, it finally came to be established here in the sixteenth century, being installed inside the Royal Palace at the top of the hill.
Here the daily life is marked by the students, who inject a special liveliness into the city through their academic traditions, with the highlight being the Festa da Queima das Fitas in May, an event that marks the end of the academic year. This celebration involves the final-year students burning their narrow ribbons in chamber pots (each faculty is represented by a different colour) and exchanging them for wider ones.
It is also the students, draped in their black academic gowns, who sing the Fado de Coimbra, a more erudite version than the one found in Lisbon, sung exclusively by male voices and played in a much more solemn fashion.
The city of Coimbra is divided into two distinct areas, the "baixa" (lower town) by the river, where most of the city's commercial activity is concentrated, and the "alta" (upper town), the older part, which is entered through the Arco de Almedina, a gateway that brings back memories of the Arab occupation, since "Medina" means city in Arabic. The upper town consists of steep narrow streets, where the "republics" (typical communal student residences) are to be found, as well as some of the city's most important buildings (Sé Velha (Old Cathedral), Sé Nova (New Cathedral), the University and the Casa de Sub-Ripas, a mansion with an impressive Manueline doorway).
Coimbra's unique appearance, dominated by the building and tower of the University at the top of the hill, may be admired as a harmonious whole from the other side of the river, but the city can only really be appreciated by walking through its streets. It deserves a lengthy stay, for as is said in a fado sung by the students, it has even "greater charm at the moment of farewell".

Fátima

In a Region with these characteristics, and due to the wide diversity of the area it involves, it is always very difficult to suggest a particular place to visit, specially when everything is so worthwhile to see ... It will be our pleasure to welcome you all...
You have here a list of the more interesting places where one can find the main monuments to visit and the Region resources concerning Natural Heritage. The Monasteries of Alcobaça and Batalha, Fatima's Sanctuary, the Piedade and Monte Real Spas’, beaches, the Lira's Pine Forest and the Natural Park of the Serras de Aire and Candeeiros, are only a few examples of what you can find in the section "Places to Visit".
One of the most important Marian centres of pilgrimage in the catholic world. Basilica and Capelinha das Aparições.

With its origins deep in history, it was during the Arabian occupation that this settlement developed and was named. According to legend, during the Christian Reconquest, the Templar knight Gonçalo Hermingues, also known as Bringer-of-Moors, fell in love with Fátima, a Moor captured in the course of an ambush.
Reciprocating the love, the young woman converted to Christianity and adopted the name Oureana.
In the sixteenth century, the settlement became first a parish in the collegiate church of Ourém and then a parish within the Diocese of Leiria.  The most important celebrations are held on 13th May (including the Candlelit Procession on the night of the 12th and the Farewell Procession closing the event on the 13th) and 13th October. Furthermore, the 13th of every month between these two dates is also a day of devotion.
For those interested in the historical context of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fátima, visits can be made to the houses of the shepherd witnesses in the village of Aljustrel. In the gardens of Casa de Lúcia, there is a monument commemorating the second apparition of the Angel of Peace and the end of the Via Sacra which begins in the Sanctuary. Along this route, there are 14 chapels donated by Hungarian Catholic refugees in the West. Of particular note is Valinhos, 400 metres from the village where monuments commemorate the fourth apparition in 1917 as well as the place chosen by the angel. Here, in 1916, the shepherds saw the Angel of Peace for the first and third times.

Óbidos

Completely enclosed by lofty medieval walls, this is a small town with whitewashed houses brightened up by colourful bougainvillaea. The massively towered castle has now been converted into an elegant pousada. Churches: Nossa Senhora do Carmo (Roman-Gothic), Santa Maria (Renaissance, housing an art collection by Portuguese painter Josefa d'Obidos), Misericórdia (15th-18th centuries) and São Pedro (18th century). Nearby, Senhor da Pedra Sanctuary.

This delightful town of white houses adorned with bougainvillaeas and honeysuckle is entirely surrounded by medieval walls built by order of King Dom Fernando (14th century). The town, which is forbidden to car traffic, is entered by various gateways, of which the most outstanding is the southern entrance, decorated with 18th century tiles.
The castle, situated at the highest point, was built by order of King Dom Dinis (14th century), who gave it as a wedding present to his wife Dona Isabel, the Holy Queen, and it now houses one of the most exclusive country-house hotels in Portugal, with only six rooms.

The nearby Óbidos Lagoon, the largest in Portugal, was originally an inlet on the coast, at a time when the sea used to bathe the foot of the hill on which the town of Óbidos is located. As the sea gradually receded, this area was almost closed, becoming a favourite spot for fishermen due to the abundance of fish in its waters, and nowadays it is a popular summer resort.
The most important annual events in Óbidos are the celebrations in Holy Week (re-creating the steps on the Way of the Cross), and the Ancient Music Festival, which takes place in October.

Leiria

A striking royal castle hangs above the graceful town of Leiria. Other important monuments: the Cathedral (16th-17th centuries, with an archaeology museum on its premises), São Pedro Church (Romanesque), Nossa Senhora da Pena Church (Gothic), Nossa Senhora da Encarnação Sanctuary (16th century).

It was Dom Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal, who reconquered the Moorish castle set on the hilltop (where Leiria now stands) for the Christians in 1135, around 6 kms from an older settlement founded by the Romans called Colippo. However, Leiria Castle was recaptured by the Moors in 1190, and it was only two years later that King Dom Sancho I finally retook it and rebuilt the walls.

During Dom Dinis´s reign (13th-14th centuries), Leiria became very important, since the king and his wife Queen Santa Isabel chose it as one of the royal residences, building the Royal Palace within the castle walls. King Dom João I later ordered it to be rebuilt in the Gothic style, adding the loggia with its eight ogival arches on the façade overlooking the town, the centrepiece of the castle.
Dom Dinis also ordered the planting of the Leiria pine forest, so as to hold back the shifting sand on the coast. The wood from the trees was used for exalted purposes in the 15th and 16th centuries, as the building material for the ships that undertook the historic Discoveries.

During the Middle Ages Leiria was a thriving economic centre, particularly important for wood, cereal and other food produce, ores and manufactured goods. It can also boast of being the first city in Portugal to manufacture paper at the beginning of the 14th century.
The town began its development on the hill, within and around the castle, and then began to expand down to the river banks. In the mid-16th century it became a city and diocesan See, the start of the town's golden age, to which the vast complex of 16th to 18th century architectural heritage bears witness, dominated by the Cathedral.
The "Brisas do Lis" ("Breezes of the Lis") are the pride of the local confectionery, taking their name from the river that runs through the town.

In the surrounding area, the main draws are the beaches of Pedrogão, São Pedro de Moel and Vieira de Leiria.

Nazaré

A typical fishing town, is nowadays a busy summer resort, where side by side with the crowds of tourists, one still sees all over the streets of the town the fish-sellers, and the carapaus (horse mackerel) laid out to dry.
The Sítio district, at the town's highest point (accessible by a funicular), is without doubt the best viewpoint in the area. But it is also associated with the cult of Our Lady of Nazaré who, according to the 12th century legend, was invoked by the alcaide (commander of a fortress or castle) Dom Fuas Roupinho who, while stalking a deer, was about to fall down into an abyss with no possible salvation. As a sign of gratitude for the mercy he received, Dom Fuas Roupinho ordered a small chapel to be built - the Ermida de Memória.

The Nazaré people's connection with the sea is reflected in the local handicrafts, in particular the nets, buoys, baskets and traditional puppets dressed in the typical costumes of seven skirts, as well as in the cuisine, with its emphasis on fish and shellfish dishes, such as caldeiradas (fish caseroles), soups, açorda (purée of bread, herbs and garlic) and the dried horse mackerel.
The most important feature of the surrounding area is the 7th century Chapel of São Gião, one of the rare holy places of the Visigoths existing in Portugal.

Peniche

At the time of the Christian Reconquest of the Portuguese territory, Peniche was an isolated island that served as a refuge for a few fishermen, but over the centuries the sea gradually brought in sand, which settled there and established the link with the coast. By the 15th century Peniche was a peninsula, and fishing continued to be the main occupation of the inhabitants, a tradition which has survived up to the present day. The fishermen's work, especially when the boats loaded with fish arrive in the harbour, and the fish is transported to the place where it is taxed and sold, is a spectacle much appreciated by visitors. The abundance of fish is of course made full use of in the regional cuisine, of which the specialities are the caldeiradas (fish casseroles), grilled sardines, lobster and the shellfish risotto.

This region, which has excellent beaches, some especially famous for the conditions they offer for surfers, such as Baleal, Consolação, Supertubos and Molhe Leste, is bounded at its westernmost point by Cape Carveiro, a craggy promontory overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Opposite Peniche are the Berlingas Islands, a nature reserve, which are accessible by boat from Peniche.
Lace-bones, a precious and complicated work carried out by the women of the region, is the most typical of the local handicraft.