The Knights Templar chose the hill above Tomar in the twelfth century, building a castle to defend the new kingdom of Portugal against the Moors, and at its heart they raised a round church, the Charola, modelled on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. When the Templars were suppressed in the fourteenth century, the Portuguese king transferred their property to a new order, the Order of Christ, which went on to finance much of Portugal's maritime expansion; Henry the Navigator was its governor. Over the centuries, the order added cloisters, chapels and dormitories, and the Convent of Christ became one of the great monuments of Portugal, inscribed on the UNESCO list in 1983.
The Charola, its interior painted and gilded, is extraordinary, and so is the Manueline window on the west façade of the church, carved with ropes, coral, seaweed, armillary spheres and other symbols of the age of discovery. The great cloister, in Renaissance style, is calm and elegant. Allow a couple of hours to explore.
Tomar itself, a town of nineteen thousand on the Nabão river, has a charming old centre with a grid of narrow streets, a Gothic church, a synagogue from the fifteenth century, and riverside parks. Every four years, the Festa dos Tabuleiros sees young women parade through the streets carrying tall headdresses of bread and flowers, a spectacular tradition with roots in medieval times.
For riders, the area is excellent. The Castelo de Bode reservoir, to the east, is a long, winding lake surrounded by forests, with roads that follow its shores and cross its arms. North, the mountains around Lousã and the schist villages offer twisting roads through forests and valleys. Tomar has fuel, shops and restaurants. Try the local sweets, such as fatias de Tomar, and the regional dishes of roast meat and bacalhau. Spring and autumn are ideal, while summer can be very hot.