Travel Guide to Tomar, Portugal

This picturesque town is situated on the bank of the Nabao River. First mentions of the city belong to the 12th century. According to one legend the first settlers of this place were the Templars, who built a fortress on a hill. Steadily new and new buildings appeared around the castle. Today only Charolais Church reminds of the past centuries. This church was built a few years after the building of the fortress. This is a magnificent building, which architecture is quite unusual for the Middle Ages. The tower has 16 facets, and so it is considered that the prototype of this church was the Holy Sepulcher located in Jerusalem. The inner halls of the church are decorated with gilded halls and beautiful hand-painted carvings.

The central part of Tomar is considered a historic district. Here have remained old narrow streets, on which you will see small shops and cozy cafes. The main shopping street of the town is Rua Serpa Pinto. Here you will find best shops that are full of attractive clothes, jewelry and perfume. The street will take you to Pra?a da Republica Square, which is the location of another major attraction - the church of San Juan Baptista.

In the entertainment program will surely include the visit to the local synagogue, which is located on Rua Dr.Joaquim Jacinto Street. It was built in the beginning of the 15th century and this is one of the oldest synagogues in Portugal. Nowadays the synagogue was converted into a museum named after the great scientist Abraham Zacuto. Not far away from this sight is located another remarkable cultural institution, Museum of Matches. There are not so many unique collections of matches around the world. The collection of the museum contains approximately 43 000 matchboxes, which have been imported from many different countries. Tomar has prepared much interesting for tourists, who will find here a wide choice of entertainments and excursions. Each day of rest in this beautiful town will be a unique and interesting one.