On our way back to Lisbon from Porto, we stopped by Óbidos, a tiny town completely surrounded by castle walls. It was very charming, with miniature streets and tiny hobbit-like houses. Everything was whitewashed with blue and yellow stripes, and made me imagine being in Greece.
The whole town is very picturesque, very quaint. It’s hard to imagine that 3,000 people actually still live there.
We read in advance that all the restaurants in the town were going to be a bit overpriced, so we brought some snacks with us so that we don’t have to eat at overpriced touristy restaurants. We had a picnic on top of the castle wall, enjoying giant donuts for dessert. It was a weekday, so we pretty much had our own private castle.
Walking around the town, we saw this cell hanging off the castle wall. Turns out this cell was used for punishment – people were left up there either to be tortured for a few days, or worse, left there to die.
After that morbid thought, we continued exploring all the charming streets of Óbidos.
We saw an awesome mansion/castle outside of Óbidos. I wonder who lives there!
Our stop in Óbidos was perfect. We got to break up the drive from Porto to Lisbon, got to enjoy a beautiful day in a scenic town, and got to fit in some more sightseeing before heading home! I would highly recommend a stop there if you are ever in the area.
I love those hobbit-like houses. Reminds me a little of Greece. I’d heard about the town, but didn’t know it was that beautiful.
Yep, the houses made me want to go to Greece! It was very beautiful, and so so quiet – there were almost no people there on a weekday morning.