In restaurants you can find the most typical dishes such as fish stew of Obidos Lagoon, fried eels and stew. For those who prefer meat, there´s  a great wealth of green fields and the traditional livestock is reflected in the cuisine. They are the usual lamb stew or lamb, grilled meat, asparagus with ham and roasted lamb with herbs and rice. To accompany a great meal nothing better than a magnificent drink. Thanks to its microclimate Obidos and the oeste region produces fine wines, known as Gaeiras or Quinta do Gradil and Oiro Obidos but there are many more! The Jeropiga, brandy and beer and orange liqueurs. But it deserves special mention the most typical and traditional drink of Obidos, the ginjinha. This is a region with it´s own wine route.

To end a great meal can ask for sweet Muggle-of-egg , lampreys of Gaeiras (sweet eggs), moorish, mayors, footprints or pastel de Moura. And if you think this is not sufficient  then ask for the sweet cake, olive oil cake,  cavacas from Caldas da Rainha ,  esquecidos, sweet rice pudding  or strawberry jam with nuts. Don´t miss the Alfeizerão sponge cake or the small boats with sweet eggs and chocolate, you won´t be able to eat only one! A region where the conventual sweets prevail!

If you prefer you can pick fruit. The pear rock ( Pera Rocha) is the most renowned fruit of the region and is produced in the county, especially in the village of Usseira. Or the well knwon Alcobaça Apple, a treat!

Also worthy of highlight are the goat cheese, sheep or mixed. And the dried fuits such as penauts, Pevides- dried pumpkin seeds or the lupini beans.

1st Century – Obidos is conquered by the Romans.

5th – 6th Century – Romans followed up the Visigoths.

8th Century- The Moors occupied the village.

1148-11 de Janeiro – D. Afonso Henriques takes Obidos the Moors (municipal holiday).

1195 – Probable charter of donation to Obidos.

1210 – Alfonso II donates the village to his wife, D.Urraca.

1246 – By keeping fidelity to D.Sancho II, Obidos ensures the title “Mui noble and always loyal” that still holds today.

1282 – D. Dinis and Queen Santa Isabel pass wedding night in Óbidos. With the donation of the village, as a wedding gift, this becomes an integral part of the dowry of all Portuguese Queens until 1834.

1422 – In the town of Obidos, King John I makes the change from the era of Caesar to the era of Christ.

1441 – On August 15 marries the Prince Afonso (later King Afonso V) with Isabel. The groom was ten years old and the bride eight.

1491 – The Queen D. Leonor, wife of King João II, moves  to Obidos after her sons death, Infante Afonso.

1498 – Leonor founded Mercy of Obidos.

1513 – D. Manuel donates the new Obidos charter.

1527 – King John III establishes a class of Mathematics and one of Theology.

1684 – On July 22 dies the painter Josefa d’Obidos.

1755 – Obidos is damaged by the earthquake.

1808 – From Obidos are fired the first shots that began the Battle of Roliça, during the French invasions, where Napoleon suffered his first loss of the Peninsular War.

1834 – Extinction of the House of Queens.

1900/1910 –  King D.Carlos  hunting used to hunt in the lagoon, with Priest Antonio Almeida, chaplain of the Lord of the Stone Church.

1910/1950 -Restoration of the wall

1973 – takes place in Obidos one of the Captains Movement meetings held at the Headquarters of Recreational Musical Society Óbidos, which triggered the revolution April 25, 1974.

1994 – Archaeological excavations of a Roman city identified as Eburobrittium

Courtesy of www.Obidos.pt

It is known that the Phoenicians traded here, and today more properly the Romans settled  and it is likely that the southern Torch tower has had its origin in a lookout Roman tower construction, such as advanced post in the city of Eburobrittium , large urban metropolis  found in an archaeological work phase.

On January 11, 1148, Portuguese first king, Afonso Henriques, supported by Gonçalo Mendes da Maia, took Obidos from the Arabs, after the previous November siege. The Cruise of Memory is a simple monument of the time, later restored. Obidos belonged to the defensive pentagon (the five castles), the center of the kingdom, created by the Templars.

D. Dinis gave Óbidos as a wedding gift to his wife Isabel and  the village was owned by the House of Queens, only abolished in 1834. Most of Portugal Queens passed by the village leaving great benefits. D. Catarina orders to build the aqueduct and fountains. Administrative reform of King Manuel I gave Óbidos in 1513 a new Foral and this time a very intense urban re qualification.

The 1755 earthquake was felt intensely by knocking down parts of the wall as well as some temples and buildings and even changed some aspects of the stroke,the Arab and medieval hull. Óbidos was also a stage for the struggles of the Peninsular War and here toke place the  great battle of Roliça.

More recently the Village hosted the preparatory meeting of the 25th April Revolution  thus connected to the brave and heroic captains movement.

Built during Queen Santa Isabel reign in 1309 was then dedicated to St. Vincent  gave religious assistance to those who suffered most in the Middle Ages, lepers.
In the beginning of the 16th century the temple was built on the heritage of the Holy House of Mercy of Óbidos. From October 19 1636 until the liberalism  served as headquarters to the Parish and Collegiate Church of St. John the Baptist.

Since then the church went into a steep decline, reappearing now as a space where Art and Religious Heritage will take place with its adequate expression.

The Parish Museum of Obidos (or St. John), will be a meeting point and dialogue between the community and its roots, as well as a factor of cultural growth, articulating closely with other museum services in the Village Obidos.

The opening of this cultural facility will also serve as an incentive to the study and dissemination of the church artistic and historical heritage which  is the basis of local culture, showing it to various audiences (students, researchers, tourists, etc.) .

The museum management, whose contents will be decided by the parish priest and the technicians of the Municipal Museum, will have short duration or temporary exhibitions (between 4-9 months), justifying investigation and motivating the new periodic visits to the Museum.

This Museum was inaugurated on June 15, 1970, attended by the then President of the Republic, Admiral Américo Tomás, the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, D. Manuel Alves Cherry and several government officials. Was its first director the then mayor, Albino de Castro and Sousa (1922-1984).

The Municipal Museum is part of the West Museum Route and is home to the Museums and Galleries Obidos Network.

Another of remote antecedents that led to the museum’s foundation is reflected from some cultural achievements in Obidos, including the Sacred Art Exhibition in 1954 and the evocation of Josefa de Obidos in 1959, producing a heightened expectation effect with the closure the “regional museum”, housed in the limited space of the Gothic chapel of St. Martin, where there was an archeology collection and architectural fragments, most belonging to Lt. Col. Luis Torquato de Freitas Garcia

Foz do Arelho Beach is a place that nature gifted us with has exceptional therapeutic qualities and an extensive sandy beach, site of choice for surfers, the calm and tranquil waters of the lagoon are a charm for children. In the small pier area, you can buy the full range of species Lagoon offers, cockle clams to, this beach is great terraces and restaurants where you can feast on fish dishes, fried eels, clams and the magnificent Lagoa Stew.

Bom Sucesso Beach or Vau Beach has an unusual form it comes from the source to the sandbar where it becomes broader, skirts the cliff, continuing south about 1 Km.
The water inside the lagoon is calm, except during high tide along the bar, where you can form strong currents.

Both beaches are a stage for radical sports as surf, kite surf or wind surf, for this coast has the ideal conditions.

Extends essentially by two channels, to the west by the Braço Bom Sucesso  and to the east by Braço Barrosa.

The Obidos Lagoon shares land borders with the municipality of Caldas da Rainha Norte (parishes of Foz do Arelho and Nadadouro) and the municipality of Obidos the South (parishes of Vau and Santa Maria).

The South side is the Poça do Vau and the west side is linked to Poça das Ferrarias. It has a maximum length of 6 km and a width varying between 1 and 1.5 km, with a NW-SW preferred orientation. However, this configuration tends to fluctuate considerably, with the direct consequence pushed by sea sediments into the pond.

According to ancient accounts, the Lagoon was much more extensive, reaching the foot of the hill where now stands the town of Obidos, bathing the walls of the castle West side.

In a natural way, the Obidos Lagoon, such as coastal lagoons in the medium or long term, it would turn into swamps if your sedimentary regime remained. However, human intervention accelerates the process of silting through the constant changes it causes in the watersheds leading to greater production of sediment. On the other hand, people try to reverse the situation to intervene with dredging carried out with the aim of increasing the depth of the system, extending thereby the life of these aquatic environments.

Fauna and avifauna

Its fauna consists of fish species such as sea bass, sole, plaice, turbot, golden, the black sea bream, mullet, but also other species such as clams, cockles, mussels, shrimp, octopus, eel, green crab among others.

The avifauna community is the group that has the most important ecological role in the ecosystem. Species were identified, among others, the heron, mallard, oystercatchers, long, curlew leg, tern, heron boieira, snowy egret, black beak gaivinha.

There´s a typical boat called Bateira used by the fishermen and the  shellfish pickers.

It’s characterized by being open deck vessels. They were once widely used for harvesting limo. Currently the bateiras may already have two motors (operating gasoline) one main and one auxiliary which can be used in case of failure. To maintain batteries, which happens every two years, Bateiras are immersed in water when they are parched, and then be painted.

This lagoon has all the conditions for sports like kite surf, sail, canoeing, jetski and paddle boarding .

Its origin dates back to the founding of the Cistercian Abbey (in Latin, Cistercium; in French, Citeaux), in the commune of Saint-Nicolas-les-Citeaux, Burgundy, in 1098, by Roberto de Champagne, abbot of Molesme. This, along with some fellow monks had left the monastic congregation of Cluny to resume the observance of the ancient Benedictine rule, in response to the relaxation of Cluny Order.

Through the “Charta Charitatis” in addition to the rule of Order of St. Benedict, Stephen – third abbot of the Cistercian – established the Order of the supreme authority is exercised by an annual meeting of all the abbots. The monasteries were supervised by the monastery headquarters in Citeaux, and the four oldest monasteries of the Order.

The order will play an important role in the religious history of the twelfth century, come to be imposed throughout the West for its organization and authority. One of his most important works was the colonization of the region east of the Elbe, which simultaneously promoted Christianity, Western civilization and the appreciation of land 1.

Restoration of the Benedictine rule inspired by the Gregorian reform, the Cistercian order promoted asceticism, liturgical rigor and erect, to some extent, the work as a fundamental value, as evidenced by its technical, artistic and architectural heritage.

In addition to the social role until the French Revolution, the order has great influence on the intellectual and economic level, as well as in the arts and spirituality, should its considerable development Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), exceptional charisma man . His influence and his personal prestige made him the most celebrated of the Cistercians. Although not the founder of the order, remains their spiritual mentor 2.

Currently, the Cistercian order is actually made up of two religious orders and various congregations. The order of “Common Observance had in 1988 with more than 1,300 monks nuns in 1500, over 62 monasteries and 64, respectively. The Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance (also called OCSO) currently comprises nearly 3,000 monks and nuns in 1875, over one hundred and two male monasteries and seventy-two female monasteries in the world. Are commonly called “Trappist” since the creation of the order resulted from the reform of the Trappist Abbey (in Soligny-la-Trappe, Lower Normandy, France) .

Even separated, the two orders have friendship links and collaborative relationships. The habit is also similar. The Cistercian monks are known as white because of the color of their habit.

Whilst following the Benedictine Rule, the Cistercian monks are not properly considered Benedictines. It was the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) that the word “Benedictine” came to designate the monks who did not belong to any centralized order, as opposed to Cistercians.

Inês  is known as lover and posthumously-recognized wife of King Peter I of Portugal. The dramatic circumstances of her relationship with Peter I, which was forbidden by his father King Afonso IV, her murder at the orders of Afonso, Peter’s bloody revenge on her killers, and the legend of the coronation of her exhumed corpse by Peter, have made Inês de Castro a frequent subject of art, music, and drama through the ages.

Inês came to Portugal in 1340 as a maid of Constance of Castile, recently married to Peter, the heir apparent to the Portuguese throne. The prince fell in love with her and started to neglect his lawful wife, endangering the already feeble relations with Castile. Moreover, Peter’s love for Inês brought the exiled Castilian nobility very close to power, with Inês’s brothers becoming the prince’s friends and trusted advisors. King Afonso IV of Portugal, Peter’s father, disliked Inês’s influence on his son and waited for their mutual infatuation to wear off, but it did not.

Constance of Castile died in 1345. Afonso IV tried several times to arrange for his son to be remarried, but Pedro refused to take a wife other than Inês, who was not deemed eligible to be queen. Peter’s legitimate son, future King Ferdinand I of Portugal, was a frail child, whereas Peter and Inês’s illegitimate children were thriving; this created even more discomfort among the Portuguese nobles, who feared the increasing Castilian influence over Peter. Afonso IV banished Inês from the court after Constance’s death, but Peter remained with her declaring her as his true love. After several attempts to keep the lovers apart, Afonso IV ordered Inês’s death. Pêro Coelho, Álvaro Gonçalves, and Diogo Lopes Pacheco went to the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha in Coimbra, where Inês was detained, and killed her, decapitating her in front of her small child.

When Peter heard of this he sought out the killers and managed to capture two of them in 1361. He executed them publicly, ripping their hearts out claiming they didn’t have one having pulverized his own heart.

Peter became King of Portugal in 1357. He then stated that he had secretly married Inês, who was consequently the lawful queen, although his word was, and still is, the only proof of the marriage.

Legend has it that he had Inês’s body exhumed from her grave and forced the entire court to swear allegiance to their new queen by kissing the corpse’s hand. She was later buried at the Monastery of Alcobaça where her coffin can still be seen, opposite Peter’s so that, according to the legend, at the Last Judgment Peter and Inês can look at each other as they rise from their graves. Both marble coffins are exquisitely sculpted with scenes from their lives and a promise by Peter that they would be together até ao fim do mundo (until the end of the world).

Inês de Castro and Peter I had the following children:

• Afonso (1346), died young shortly after birth.
• Beatrice, Countess of Alburquerque (c. 1347–1381), married Sancho Alfonso, 1st Count of Alburquerque and was thereby the great-grandmother of Ferdinand II of Aragon.^[4]
• John, Duke of Valencia de Campos (1349–1397), claimant to the throne during the 1383–85 Crisis.
• Denis, Lord of Cifuentes (1354–1397), claimant to the throne during the 1383–1385 Crisis.

Because of its importance was recognized as Europe´s Council  Biogenetic Reserve. Protected by law since 1981, the whole Nature Reserve has an area of about 80 hectares and a marine area of about 1000 hectares. Preferred for nesting birds such as the guillemot site, the gull-winged dark., Silvery gull-billed shearwater-yellow and navy crested crow among others, its flora includes more than 804 species of which are endemic (Armeria berlengensis, berlengiana Herniaria microcephala Pulicaria, Echium rosulatum).

It´s a small paradise, that receives hundreds of visitors during Summer time. You can find a  very small hotel/restaurant  that must be booked months ahead.

Being a nature reserve, there are certain rules that must be followed. So is not allowed to transit off the rails and roads established, to camp outside the camping area, throw trash on the ground and on the sea, start any kind of fire, harvest any of the local flora and fauna, introduce zoological and botanical species strange to the natural environment, any sports activities likely to cause pollution or noise or the use of sound amplifiers that may disturb the quiet place.