These are two of Portugal's great medieval monasteries, both UNESCO World Heritage sites, about 20 minutes apart by road near the town of Fátima. Mosteiro da Batalha is a soaring Gothic building commissioned to commemorate the 1385 victory over Castile at Aljubarrota, with an unfinished chapel open to the sky. Mosteiro de Alcobaça is an older, starker Cistercian abbey best known for the tombs of King Pedro I and his murdered mistress Inês de Castro, and for one of the largest monastic kitchens in Europe.
| Distance | 100–120 km from Lisbon |
|---|---|
| Travel time | 1.5–2 hours by car; 2–2.5 hours by bus |
| Getting there | Rede Expressos bus from Sete Rios to Batalha (~€12 / ~$13 each way); return separately from Alcobaça |
| Address | Mosteiro da Batalha, R. Dom Nuno Álvares Pereira, 2440-102 Batalha |
How to get there
- Rede Expressos bus (Sete Rios to Batalha)
- Car via A1 (1h 30min)
- Guided day tour from Lisbon (~€55 / ~$60)
Location
Mosteiro da Batalha, R. Dom Nuno Álvares Pereira, 2440-102 Batalha
39.6570, -8.8251 View on map
Highlights
- Capelas Imperfeitas (Unfinished Chapels), Mosteiro da Batalha - an octagonal royal mausoleum left roofless when construction stopped, its stonework open to the sky
- Founder's Chapel, Mosteiro da Batalha - burial place of King João I and Philippa of Lancaster, with the tomb of Henry the Navigator among their sons
- Royal Cloister, Mosteiro da Batalha - Manueline stone tracery added a century after the original Gothic cloister
- Tombs of Pedro I and Inês de Castro, Mosteiro de Alcobaça - facing each other across the transept, carved with scenes said to depict their story
- Monastery kitchen, Mosteiro de Alcobaça - a vast Cistercian kitchen with a chimney large enough that a stream was reportedly diverted through it to supply fresh fish