62 Best Sights in Estremadura and the Ribatejo, Portugal

To catch a glimpse of what was once hailed as "the most picturesque fishing village in Portugal," either climb the precipitous trail or take the Ascensor da Nazaré, a scenic funicular (€2.50 one way, €4 return), to the top of a 361-foot cliff to visit the settlement called Sítio (literally, "Place"). Clustered at the cliff's edge overlooking the beach is a small community of fishermen who live in tiny cottages and seem unaffected by all that's happening below. On this promontory stands the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Nazaré, a predominately baroque church with a tiled and gilded interior that houses a figure of the Virgin Mary said to have been carved by Joseph himself in Nazareth—hence the town's name. Its cloisters harbor a free museum with naive paintings of local miracles; in the shrine itself, for €1 you can go through the old sacristy for a close-up look at the image.

The royal complex in and around Mafra includes 1,200 hectares (2,965 acres) purchased in 1744 by João V, who then enclosed the land with a 21-km (13-mile) stone wall in order to hunt at leisure. Two-thirds of this area is now the protected National Hunting Grounds of Mafra, a forest teeming with indigenous species: around 30 mammals, from fallow and roe deer to tiny shrews, 70 kinds of bird, and more than 20 different amphibians and reptiles, along with various macrofungi and 100 or so other types of plant. For most of the year visitors may simply walk (or rent a bike) along one of the marked trails; at weekends and in summer various experiences are on offer, such as demonstrations with birds of prey, tours in an electric minibus or, on weekends, a miniature train. The entrance is a 10-minute drive from the palace at Mafra.