The Citadel of Obidos

November 13^th, 2025 

After leaving Nazare and while on our way to Sintra where I planned to park Octi for the next two weeks, we decided to exit the highway to check out the small town of Óbidos.  Naomi had read about it in her research of places to visit in Portugal, but it was raining as we pulled into the tourist parking lot on the outskirts of the town.   

Driving towards the town.

We donned our raingear but then it just dumped down, and we weren’t the only tourists remaining in the refuge of their vehicles.  I looked at Naomi, she looked at me, and we both concluded that it would be ridiculous to go out in this weather.  However, just after removing our jackets and getting back into our seats, the intensity of the rain backed off a bit, and we decided to go for it.

The entrance to the citadel.

Yes, the Christmas decorations are up.

The main gatehouse had some lovely tilework.

Óbidos (pronounced “oh-bee-douche”) was originally a Roman settlement in the 5^th century but it was the Moors who built a fortification around the hilltop town some time after 713.  Over the years, the walls were strengthened, and a keep was built.  There are some people who still live in the town today.

Starting down the first street.

Thankfully the rain continued to taper off as we walked around, admired the Christmas decorations and checked out a few stores (well Naomi did…).

 

Naomi does like Christmas...

What a lovely tree with gorgeous purple flowers.

A bit of a Mary Poppins look.

Yes, it was wet...although it did taper off.

We stepped into this pastry shop.

And the lady was busy working, however...

...right above her was a violinist plying his trade too.

Another sardine shop, like one of many we saw in Porto.

I do like castles...

After some lunch in a quaint little restaurant complete with a suit of armour standing by the wall, we climbed up the stairs to walk along part of the rampart and got some good views not only of the town, but the surrounding countryside.

Our lunch spot.

This is the upstairs of the restaurant and that's a little curved bridge on the left.

Well, hello.

Starting to walk along the ramparts.

That's the aqueduct that used to provide the town with water in the old days.

I have to admit that I like castles and citadels.  For those who aren’t aware of the difference, a castle is a large building, typically of the medieval period, fortified against attack with thick walls, battlements, towers, and in many cases a moat.  A citadel is a fortress, typically one on high ground above a city.  Óbidos is considered a citadel.

Up on one of the towers.

Looking out on the countryside.

Looking along the wall.

There were a couple of soccer nets down in this lovely green area...can't blame them, but it must suck when the ball is kicked over the wall!

I stole this from the Internet, but here's a great photo of what the castle looks like from a distance.

We were both glad that we didn’t let the rain kibosh our visit to Óbidos.