Top Things to do in Leiria District
Top Hotels in Leiria District
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Top 10 Things to do Good for Big Groups in Leiria District, Central Portugal
Discover the best top things to do in Leiria District, Portugal including Quinta do Sanguinhal, Supertubos Beach, Obidos Village, Baleal Beach, Monastery of Alcobaca, Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Nazare, Bacalhoa Buddha Eden, Castelo de Leiria, Praia do Salgado, Batalha Monastery.
Restaurants in Leiria District
1. Quinta do Sanguinhal
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 84 reviews
Tour and wine tasting. Visit a XIX century estate, it's gardens and vineyards, as well as an old pressing-room, distillery and ageing cellar. Lunch and dinner can be included, depending on the numer of participants (min 20). Visits must always be scheduled in advance. Here some fix visit times for your visit: 10:00 12:00 15:00 17:00
Reviewed By Tamitka - Amsterdam, The Netherlands
We booked the tour via airbnb and it included transport, wine tour with wine tasting. It was great! we got explanation about everything we asked about wines but also grapes and how the grow. We really enjoyed it!
2. Supertubos Beach
3. Obidos Village
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 4,863 reviews
Reviewed By markbH9929KY
This was our second visit to the amazing and beautiful village of Obidos. Should be the top of everyone’s list of places to visit if touring or holidaying in this area. You can walk right around the village on the castle walls, enjoying the fab views from lots of different vantage points, then enjoy the gorgeous narrow streets of this old Moorish village. Truly stunning.
4. Baleal Beach
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 805 reviews
Reviewed By Ricardomster
Came with the family and we had a great day. The beach is quite big with plenty of space for everyone to be well over 2m apart due to covid19. Parking wasn't an issue, we arrived around 11 and there was lots of space, at least during weekdays on vacation. Lots of surfers here as it's a hotspot for surfing. Water is a bit cold, not that bad really, but once you get in you're good. Highly recommended, will come again!
5. Monastery of Alcobaca
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,243 reviews
Reviewed By VadimM67 - Murmansk, Russia
There are two reasons to visit the monastery of Santa Maria de Alcobaça: to see one of the seven wonders of Portugal and the embodiment of the terrible love story of Pedro and Ines in stone. Despite the unusually beautiful baroque facade, reconstructed at the beginning of the XVIII century, mnastir itself is very modest, which corresponds to the price of an entrance ticket of 6 euros. The reason for the modesty is that the monastery belonged to the Cistercian order, whose main principle was to live by their work, and not to accumulate wealth. Naturally, the energy of messianism supplanted them. Including in Portugal. The asceticism of the order is reflected in the architecture of the monastery, founded in 1178-four years after the canonization of Bernard of Clairvaux, the main ideologue. The monastery of Alcobaça in the Early Gothic style reflects the way of life of the Cistercians. Simple lines, without unnecessary decorations and gilding. Most of the monastery's statues are made by the monks themselves. Tourists love manual work. Even this little was lost during the third French campaign in 1810. For example, the wooden choirs burned down and the church stands without them. But Portugal's largest library was looted. As the French say: a la guerre comme a la guerre.But the kitchen has been preserved! It is equipped with a water supply system, in the mechanism of which water still circulates. The water came through an artificial drainage system from the Alcoa River (hence the name of the city). The chimney, under which the fire was built, and the stone table for cutting food were preserved..There are as many as five cloisters in the monastery, although I did not see all of them during my visit. It is interesting that in the monastery of silence it was forbidden to talk, and in the monastery of reading the monks did not read, but listened to the readings. Some believe that the monasteries are not one, but five-according to the number of cloisters. But the most interesting thing is not in the monasteries, but in the royal tomb. The practice of collective burials of crowned heads was widely practiced in Europe: . in the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, in the Medici Chapel in Florence, of course, in the Escorial. The main thing in Alcobas is the tombs of Ines de Castro and King Pedro I (1320-1367). Their sarcophagi are decorated with stone carvings that reflect both biblical stories and scenes of everyday life. Their story is often compared to Romeo and Juliet, but even Shakespeare's imagination could not make up this story of love and medieval cruelty. This story is told by all the guides.The heir to the throne, Pedro, in addition to his wife Constance, had a mistress, a Castilian noblewoman Ines de Castro, who gave birth to four illegitimate children . Father Pedro Afonso IV, fearing that the Portuguese throne would fall into the hands of the Castilians (as happened in the XVI century), ordered Pedro to abandon Ines. As Shakespeare's Romeo Pedro refused, then the king's assassins killed Inez in front of one of the children. Then comes the story "King Lear" Pedro rebelled against his father, who died during the war, and Pedro became king. Then a modified "Hamlet". Pedro obtained the extradition of two murderers from Castile and personally tore out their hearts. One through the chest, the other through the back, this doesn`t yet explain why we see the sarcophagi of Pedro and Ines next to each other in the monastery. Pedro ordered Ines's remains to be removed (after 6 years!) from the tomb, dressed the skeleton in royal robes and a crown, and forced the courtiers to swear an oath to the new queen by kissing the hem of her dress. Almost like Pope Stephen VI in 897. The king buries the queen with honors, and nearby builds a sarcophagus for himself to see his beloved at the Last Judgment. We see the inscription on the sarcophagus: Até o fim do mundo.. "Until the end of the world.".."
6. Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Nazare
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 678 reviews
Reviewed By 478incon - Bruges, Belgium
Beautiful old church from the glory days of Portugal. Pay 1 Euro and visit the old chappel with corridir stil plastered with the Original azulejos. Don't mis it when you go to Nazaré
7. Bacalhoa Buddha Eden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,726 reviews
This tour takes you to the heart of Obidos region and with a history linked to wine and sparkling wine production dating back to the XV Century, the Quinta dos Loridos estate is a unique place, where tranquillity and nature play a special role. It is from these vineyards that the grapes are picked for the production of top quality sparkling wines - those of the Loridos brand . Produced in the age old winery, a rod-press dating from the XVII Century can still be found here. The Classic Method ("Methode Champenoise") is used to produce the wine, the whole process of which is conducted manually. This is followed by a period of ageing in the cellar. The surroundings of the cellar perfectly complement its purpose: terraced gardens, a lake, a forest, vineyards, and the largest oriental gardens in Europe, the impressive Buddha Eden. Buddha Eden Garden: With circa 35 hectares, the garden was created and devised by the Comendador Jose Berardo, in response to the destruction of the Buddhas of Banyan, in which one of the greatest acts of cultural barbarity took place, erasing masterpieces of late-period Gandhara art. From Buddhas , pagodas, terracotta statues and the various carefully-placed sculptures which can be found among the gardens, it is estimated that some six thousand tons of marble and granite were used to create this monumental work of art. There are seven hundred hand-painted terracotta soldiers, each of them unique, copies of those which were buried, some of them 2,200 years ago. At the central lake, KOI (Japanese carp) fish can be seen, and sculpted dragons rise out of the water. The central staircase is the focal point of the garden, where the golden Buddhas offer you a calm welcome. This is the Quinta dos Loridos estate, a place which awakens the senses...
Reviewed By JohnBishop3 - Auckland Central, New Zealand
Definitely a must see, we had a wonderful time wandering around looking at all the Buddha’s, Art Instillations and African Statues. One of our favorite places.
8. Castelo de Leiria
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 829 reviews
This place is temporarily closed.
Reviewed By michaelc0llins77 - Dublin, Ireland
A very nice castle with an amazing view over the city, and loved the activities happening inside the castle - some kind of medieval market!
9. Praia do Salgado
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 158 reviews
Reviewed By Minikev
We went mid morning just before it got busy in the car park. Absolutely awesome waves on this beach, you could just sit and watch them for hours. Worth the drive out of the towns, to see nature at its best.
10. Batalha Monastery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,006 reviews
Located in the Gothic masterpiece of Santa Maria da Vitória Monastery, a special visit should be made to this chapel with its magnificent stained-glass windows, cloisters, Unfinished Chapel and the tombs of several Portuguese notables.
Reviewed By alexdavidwriter - London, United Kingdom
I visited each of Portugal's four famous monasteries during my trip to Portugal (Batalha, Alcobaca, Convento de Cristo, Jeronimos), and by far the best of them was Batalha. Wow! It truly is in a class of its own. The architecture is beautiful, the details captivating, and the overall effect stunning. It is the only Gothic church I have ever visited where I saw the nave completely bathed in multicolored lights as the sun shone through stained glass windows (visit in the morning on a sunny day to get the best of this effect). But there is so much more: the Founders Chapel with its incredible domed ceiling; the tomb of Henry the Navigator; the lovely cloister, which incidentally holds the Portuguese tomb of the Unknown Soldiers, complete with live soldiers on attendance; and the intricate unfinished chapels where a king and his queen are shown in stone holding hands for all eternity. Everyone visiting central Portugal should be making an effort to see Batalha Monastery. It is Portugal's Gothic wonder.
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