Alcobaça

The Monastery of Alcobaça, built on the orders of Portugal's first king to mark the 1147 Conquest of Santarém from the Moors, is one of the country's great Gothic monuments — and the reason most visitors come to this town in the Oeste region. Inside the monastery church lie the tombs of King Pedro I and Inês de Castro. The walkable centre, set at the confluence of two rivers, has a good spread of cafés and restaurants, and the wider region holds further Gothic landmarks at Batalha and the coastal resort of Nazaré nearby.

• Population15,800
• Nearest water0.2 km
• Nearest mountain6.5 km
• UNESCO within 50 km3