Central Portugal

Central Portugal is home to the university city of Coimbra, the walled town of Óbidos, the seaside of Nazaré and a group of monasteries.

This region roughly corresponds to the "Centro" tourist region of Turismo de Portugal; in this scheme it is defined as the six districts of Aveiro, Viseu, Guarda, Coimbra, Castelo Branco and Leiria as a whole; Óbidos and Nazaré in Leiria district are included. Note that the tourism board also counts Tomar and other places in northern Santarém district as part of the Centro, whereas this scheme assigns the whole Santarém district to the "Alentejo"; the Lisbon and Setúbal districts belong to the "Lisbon Region", and north of the Douro line lies "Porto and Northern Portugal". Highlights include: the University of Coimbra and the Joanina Library (a World Heritage Site) and fado; the white-washed, wall-enclosed town of Óbidos; Nazaré's seaside fishing village and giant winter waves for surfing; Alcobaça Monastery and Batalha Monastery (both World Heritage Sites) and the Fátima pilgrimage site; canal-laced Aveiro and the striped houses of Costa Nova; the Serra da Estrela, the highest range in mainland Portugal, along with schist villages such as Piódão, plus Viseu and the Dão wine region. A common itinerary links Óbidos–Nazaré–Alcobaça–Batalha–Coimbra–Aveiro between Lisbon and Porto in 3–4 days. Coimbra and Aveiro are on the main Lisbon–Porto railway line, while the coastal towns and monasteries are better reached by car or long-distance bus. In summer the inland mountains carry a wildfire risk; when watching the waves at Nazaré, stay away from the edge of the breakwater.

Destinations

Itineraries