Óbidos Castle was chosen as one of the “7 Wonders of Portugal” in 2007. It is one of the better-preserved medieval castles in the country. The place where Portuguese kings stayed still serves as a hotel nowadays.
Archaeological work has shown that the site where the Castle of Óbidos now stands had a forum and baths in Roman times. However, the Moors built the first fortifications in the 8th century AD. After the conquest of Óbidos by the Portuguese kings in the 12th century, this castle began to change shape, and surrounding buildings began to spring up like mushrooms.
Óbidos Castle stands on a hill with fabulous views of fields and wineries. Every year in summer, Óbidos hosts a medieval festival. However, it is not ordinarily held. The quality of the experience doesn’t compare to any other festivals we’ve seen. For those few days, you can rent a medieval costume (princess, prince, claw or whatever you desire), watch knight duels, and sit down to an authentic medieval supper in the evening. The presence of the castle only adds more authenticity to the experience.
But since during these days, Óbidos gets very crowded; therefore, we visited the town on several other occasions. The first time it poured rain, but on our second visit Nico got lucky by having a sunny day as well as very few tourists around so that he could get this photo of the Óbidos Castle.
