Your tour begins at a hotel or cruise port in Lisbon. You will be picked-up by your individual guide. Here your exciting journey will start, you go north to Óbidos and Mafra.Óbidos is an authentic fortified village conquered by D. Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal. It happened on January 11th, 1148, there starts the Portuguese part of Óbidos history. You can look over highlights of this medieval settlement, watch the work of craftsmen, taste the Ginjinha and other local goods. A traditional ‘Medieval Market’ takes place in Obidos every July. Note, that you need to pay extra cost for taking part in this festival, but you will not be disillusioned.
During two weeks the fortress and the town are full of the spirit of medieval Europe. Numerous entertainers and tradesmen dressed in old-time costumes full the streets. Merchants, peasants, knights, jugglers, paupers, warriors, ladies, priests and craftsmen, horses in colored blankets, heraldic emblems and banners create wonderful atmosphere of the past come alive again.Guest of the festival can buy the traditional handcrafts or watch different shows such as costumed parade marching through the town, medieval musical performances or tournaments of armed knights.We’ll finish our tour in the Mafra palace, impressive and grandiose building constructed in 18th century according to the order of the king João V. The palace of Mafra is the largest baroque palace from 18th century. As the matter of fact, it is 4 buildings in one: the convent, the palace, a church and a library.
Here you will find the longest corridor ever built in a palace – more than 230 m long, 1.200 rooms, 156 stairways and 29 inner yards. The palace is build of local limestone and marble from Sinatra and Pêro Pinheiro and has an area of almost 4 ga. The library of Mafra palace is one of the most remarkable in Europe, having more than 30.000 volumes from the 15th to the 18th century.The basilica designed by the German architect Johann Friedrich Ludwig is flanked by two towers and takes the central place in the ensemble. The grandiose king’s project started on November 17, 1717, and become true due to the gold from South America that came down into the country like a rain.
