If fate brings you to beautiful Portugal, find a day to go to Tomar. The town with a population of 20 thousand people was the birthplace of the brave Templars, which today the preserved sights of antiquity remind tourists of. But it is worth going to Tomar not only to feel the spirit of history. The city itself is very beautiful and will certainly leave only pleasant memories, perfectly complementing your vacation in Portugal. See Bridgat for climate and weather information of Portugal.
How to get there
Tomar is only 140 km from the Portuguese capital, so you can get here from Lisbon both by train and using intercity buses numbered 3, 23, 27 and 30. Direct trains from Lisbon to Tomar leave almost every hour, the trip takes exactly 2 hours. Trains to Tomar depart from Lisbon’s Santa Apolonia station, but most passengers board at Oriente station.
Hotels
Despite its modest size, Tomar offers tourists a wide variety of hotels: from two-star hotels to four-star hotels. There are no five stars here. This is understandable: after all, tourists in Tomar, as a rule, do not stay longer than one or two days. For an overnight stay, it is quite possible to stay both in a simple hotel and in a comfortable hotel.
The main attraction of Tomar, or, as they say now, must see, is the Templar monastery (the monastery of the Order of Christ). Rumor has it that the Holy Grail is kept here.
But if wastefulness is not about you, it is quite possible to spend the night in a two-star hotel. Moreover, hotels of this status offer guests cozy rooms with TV and free Wi-Fi. Accommodation in a double room, even in a two-star hotel, if it is located in the center of Tomar, will cost an average of 30 EUR per room. Accommodation in a “three-ruble note” in a room for two people in the summer will cost about 50 EUR. For a day in a four-star hotel you will have to fork out for 70 EUR. In “three stars” and “four stars”, in addition to accommodation, the price also includes breakfast.
Entertainment and attractions in Tomar
We are not disingenuous if we say that the main attraction of Tomar, or, as they say now, must see, is the monastery of the Templars (the monastery of the Order of Christ). Rumor has it that even the Holy Grail is stored here, but official evidence of this fact, alas, has not been presented by modern scientists. The majestic monastery was erected by a knightly order in the middle of the 12th century, however, at first it was a castle, and not a Catholic monastery. This can be seen by looking at the building – it looks more like a powerful fortification.
Despite the past centuries, the monastery of the Order of Christ has been well preserved to this day, down to the decorative elements – ornaments on the windows and colored tiles on the walls. We add that tourists are charged 6 EUR for visiting the monastery.
In Tomar you can also see the oldest synagogue in Portugal. It is located in the historical center of the city, on Dr. Joaquim Jacinto. Then you can visit the Church of San Francisco, built in the 17th century.
In addition to the architecture and decoration of the temple, here you can appreciate a no less unique collection of… matches.
The fact is that in one of the premises of the church there is a museum of matches, which, by the way, contains hundreds of thousands of matchboxes from more than a hundred countries. If time permits, be sure to visit the Church of San Juan Batista in Tomar and the monument to the founder of the Templar fortress, Gualdin Pais.
