Why this ride
From Alcobaça it runs 129 km to Alcobaça; allow about 2 h 13 of riding. The stops in between: Monastery of Batalha, Convent of Christ in Tomar and back through Monastery of Batalha. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Monastery of Alcobaça and Convent of Christ in Tomar · 129 km from Alcobaça
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 129 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 13
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Monastery of Batalha.
2. Monastery of Batalha
On 14 August 1385, near the village of Aljubarrota, a Portuguese army led by King João I defeated a much larger Castilian force, securing Portugal's independence. Before the battle the king had vowed to build a great monastery to the Virgin Mary if he won, and he kept his word. The Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitória, known simply as Batalha, which means battle, rose over the following century and more, a masterpiece of Gothic architecture in pale limestone, with flying buttresses, pinnacles and intricately carved portals. It was listed by UNESCO in 1983.
Read the complete Monastery of Batalha write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Monastery of Batalha comes up about 20 km into the recorded legs. Next is Convent of Christ in Tomar.
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 65 km into the recorded legs you reach Convent of Christ in Tomar. Next is back through Monastery of Batalha.
4. back through Monastery of Batalha
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Monastery of Batalha 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 Batalha, late in the day. Next is Monastery of Alcobaça.
5. 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 at Monastery of Alcobaça. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Monastery of Alcobaça to Monastery of Batalha
Monastery of Alcobaça → Monastery of Batalha is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Monastery of Batalha to Convent of Christ in Tomar
Monastery of Batalha → Convent of Christ in Tomar is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Convent of Christ in Tomar to back through Monastery of Batalha
Convent of Christ in Tomar → back through Monastery of Batalha is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Monastery of Batalha to Monastery of Alcobaça
back through Monastery of Batalha → Monastery of Alcobaça is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.