Obidos Village, Central Portugal, Portugal

4theclarken 5:00 PM Jan 7, 2023

Nice Village to Visit
I took a guided tour of Obidos with a friend. The village is in great condition and was definitely worth the visit. As you enter through the main visitor entrance, you pass through a structure which was clearly designed as a defensive position in case the main gate failed. There is a great display of decorative tiles in here as well. We quickly pass into the very touristy street filled with opportunities to spend money. Fortunately, it’s not difficult to get off the main path to the cool older structures including numerous small churches. If you know what to look for, you can see how the Moorish architectural features were removed or remodeled. On the side streets you can see how people have used their fingers on the paints at the bottom of the buildings to write graffiti. It was so prevalent I asked the guide if this was encouraged or at least tolerated. We were told neither but the village lacks the personnel to monitor. We stayed off the main drag for the rest of our visit and were rewarded with some great views away from the crowds.

4Lana D 5:00 PM Sep 11, 2022

Pretty, but overrun and theme-parky
The bus loads of tourists come in relentlessly all day. If you’re staying the night there, it doesn’t matter much, the buses start arriving around 9 am and some don’t leave until after 7 pm. So you won’t really get any secret hours to yourself. Plus, shops close up early so there’s not much to do late but have dinner anyway. Speaking of dinner, I would strongly encourage you to make a reservation. All of the good restaurants are full every day of the week and the proprietors actually get irritated if you have not made a reservation. We learned this the hard way and it wasn’t too fun. Most open at 7 pm for dinner. The town is cute, no doubt, but small and every last thing caters to tourists. All the shops sell the same things. There are two, short main streets. You can’t go in the castle because it’s a luxury hotel. You can go up on the castle walls but it’s a little scary — no handrails and the trees you pass are full of wasps, which I suspect were a secret medieval army unto themselves. Bringing small children up there would require a very strong judgment call. Instagram and Facebook opportunities are numerous, if that is your thing, but if you’re waiting for people to get out of your photo — hahaha! The locals, well I wouldn’t exactly call them friendly, but they weren’t unfriendly. They just seem tired. It’s like they love the tourists’ money but aren’t sure they love the tourists. This is something I understand but I don’t think this attitude has shown through as strongly anywhere else as it has here. They are simply overrun. If you have mobility issues, I would think twice about coming here. The rough cobblestones and hills are hard on the ankles, and in the rain all is very slippery. There are many steps and no way for a wheelchair to get through. There is a strip of flat rock through the middle of the streets that is a relief to walk on, but this is taken up by strollers and those who wore stupid shoes like strappy sandals and wedge heels. I’m not sure about all this hoopla about finding a place to park. There is actually a large lot near the aqueduct that was never full and we were still there at the height of the season. I would not leave anything in it though, it is not monitored, unlit and too far from town to keep an eye on. But it’s still close enough to town to get there in five minutes on foot. I’d definitely rent a car rather than get in one of those buses. By the way, those bus drivers drive like maniacs and won’t stop for pedestrians. If you’re going to cross the street, don’t take it for granted that a bus will stop. We saw this happen several times.