Obidos

Óbidos, one of Portugal’s most picturesque white towns, encircled by walls stretching across a grassy-green hillside. King Diniz’s queen, known as Santa Isabel, admired the town so much that he gave it to her, and for the next five centuries the town was considered a possession of the ruling queen. Óbidos is a national monument and has been carefully preserved. The town is so small that it takes no time at all to walk from one end to the other, and although it is quite touristy, it is definitely as pretty as a picture and well worth a visit. Óbidos’s most obvious attraction is its castle looming above town and the extensive, well-preserved, 12th-century fortifications that surround the old section.The castle was originally built by Dom Diniz in the 13th century, then mostly destroyed by the 1755 earthquake, and later restored. There are superb views of the countryside from the castle ramparts. The ancient, narrow streets are very beguiling—filled with handicraft shops (lace, leather, baskets, and ceramics)—and the flower-bedecked buildings are charming to see and to explore. The Rua Direita is the main street, which leads from the handsome main gate to the castle, passing the market square and the most interesting church, Santa Maria. Next door is the museum, with a collection of religious art and a room with antique arms and a model of the Lines of Torres Vedras. The town is made for leisurely wandering and taking pictures of enchanting nooks and crannies off cobblestoned streets overshadowed by dazzling-white houses with iron balconies and colorfully painted doors.