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Buildings

Monastery of Batalha

Portugal Leiria Batalha

Monastery of Batalha
Photo: Kent Wang, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A magnificent Gothic monastery built to celebrate Portugal's victory over Castile in 1385, with a lacy stone façade, the Founder's Chapel with royal tombs, and the 'Unfinished Chapels', open to the sky, with extraordinary carving. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is guarded here.


Combine it with the abbey of Alcobaça, with the tombs of the tragic lovers Pedro and Inês, and the Templar castle of Tomar, all within an hour. They're on the way between Lisbon and Coimbra.

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