Óbidos Off The Beaten Path Tips by micas_pt Top 5 Page for this destination

Igreja de São João Baptista

This church stands just outside the walls, and you won’t miss it when arriving in Obidos through the Village Door. The church was ordered by Queen Saint Isabel in 1309 and later refurbished and extended in the 16th century. Nowadays it houses the Parish Museum. As in many villages in Portugal, this church is adjacent to the cemetery.

Aqueduct

Outside the walls and for 3km spreads an aqueduct. This aqueduct was built in the 16th century and was ordered by Queen D. Catarina de Austria. The Queen paid for the construction of the aqueduct and received for herself a meadow, which is now known as Queen’s Meadow.

Inside the sanctuary

Inside the church, you will notice it has a hexagonal shape instead of the common rectangular shape. This church has 3 chapels – the main one and 2 on both sides (of the main altarpiece). The ceiling is very high with natural light coming from the windows and it has simple, but nice, paintings on the hexagonal shaped ceiling. There are beautiful azulejos (Portuguese tiles) inside, and a kind of balcony made of marble. I’m not sure about this particular church, but all other churches in Obidos (inside the walls) close at 5pm.

Santuário do Sr. Jesus da Pedra

This sanctuary is located outside the castle’s walls, but it is at a short distance, so it is easy to walk there. From the outside, it doesn’t look as a traditional church, but still its architecture is quite interesting. It has a kind of round shape to which adds three other shapes – 2 of them corresponding to the towers and one to the sacristy. Inaugurated in 1747, this sanctuary is considered as one of the main Baroque buildings in Portugal.