Cultural Landscape of Sintra and Convent of Christ in Tomar

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Cultural Landscape of Sintra

   Lord Byron called Sintra a glorious Eden, and two centuries of romantics, kings and eccentric millionaires have tried hard to prove him right. The granite range rises abruptly west of Lisbon, catching Atlantic moisture so that its slopes are draped in mist and dense, damp forest of oak, cork, fern and exotic trees planted by nineteenth-century gardeners. On the peaks and in the woods stand the Moorish Castle, its walls snaking along the ridge; the Pena Palace, a riot of yellow and red towers built for King Ferdinand II in the mid-1800s; the Quinta da Regaleira, with its spiralling initiation well; and the exotic Monserrate palace. UNESCO inscribed the whole cultural landscape in 1995.

   Read the complete Cultural Landscape of Sintra write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Cultural Landscape of Sintra is where the day begins. Next is Monastery of Alcobaça.

2. 2. Monastery of Alcobaça

   In 1153, Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, gave a vast estate to the Cistercian monks of Bernard of Clairvaux, and they built here one of the greatest monasteries of medieval Europe. The church of Alcobaça, with its long, soaring nave of pale stone, is austere and beautiful in the Cistercian manner, and the cloisters, dormitory, chapter house and refectory survive almost intact. The kitchen is enormous, with a huge chimney and a stream diverted through it so the monks could catch fish directly. UNESCO listed the monastery in 1989. But the main reason most visitors come is a love story.

   Read the complete Monastery of Alcobaça write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Monastery of Alcobaça comes up about 131 km into the recorded legs. Next is Convent of Christ in Tomar.

3. 3. Convent of Christ in Tomar

   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.

   Read the complete Convent of Christ in Tomar write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 196 km into the recorded legs you reach Convent of Christ in Tomar. Next is back through Monastery of Alcobaça.

4. 4. back through Monastery of Alcobaça

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Monastery of Alcobaça write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Monastery of Alcobaça, late in the day. Next is Cultural Landscape of Sintra.

5. 5. Cultural Landscape of Sintra

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Cultural Landscape of Sintra write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Cultural Landscape of Sintra. That is the ride.