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Nazaré, Portugal - January 2026

  • chrissihuf
  • Jan 31
  • 3 min read

Updated: Feb 10




Brief History/Information

Nazaré is a beautiful coastal town in central Portugal. It is considered a major pilgrimage site in Portugal. Nazaré is famous for its giant waves. The Nazaré Canyon is a deep underwater canyon just offshore; it’s one of the largest in Europe. The canyon amplifies Atlantic swells, creating giant waves at Praia do Norte.


What we did

We decided to rent a car for our drive up to Nazaré, so we could take our time and stop along the way if we wanted to… and we wanted to!



Óbidos (pronounced “oh-bee-dohsh”) is considered one of the finest medieval towns and walled cities in all of Portugal.

This was a great stop. We left Portugal about 9:00am, and drove about 1 1/2 hours to Óbidos, a beautiful walled medieval city. We were fortunate enough to arrive before the tour busses. We walked the amazing cobblestone streets, and had coffee and pastries at Pastelaria d'Avó Adélia, it was local and delicious; they serve a lot more than coffee and pastries. After we ate, we walked all around the adorable town, stopped in some unique and local shops, and walked some more. I highly recommend this stop to break up the monotony of driving and experience a town that feels like it could be a tourist trap, but really isn’t.




We booked our one night stay at Hotel Praia. What a beautiful hotel with a great location! The town is small and very walkable. I highly recommend staying more than one night here, as there is a lot more to do than anyone realizes. Most come (like us) to witness the big waves, as mentioned in the brief history above. The day we arrived, there really weren’t any waves to look at and awe over… I will not lie, we were a little disappointed, but knew nature doesn’t always work in our favor.

We took the rail car up to the top of the mountain, where you can walk to and see the waves on Praia do Norte. Once up top, we went to São Miguel Arcanjo Fort and the Big Wave Experience Museum. Then we just watched the waves, which is beautiful and relaxing, even if they aren’t huge.

After we had our fill of the waves, we walked the town O Sitio And enjoyed what it had to offer. We made our way back down to the main area where our hotel was, and enjoyed a beverage at Plaza Pub. It’s a great town to relax and unwind. We had dinner reservations at Taberna d’Adelia, a Michelin rated restaurant, so on our way we stoped at saw the traditional Boats of Nazaré, and an Irish Bar, just an ordinary Irish bar. We then made it for dinner at Taberna d’Adelia . What a special treat this was! The food was outstanding, but it lacked in service and explanation.

The next morning, we checked out of Hotel Praia and drove up to the mountain to see the waves one more time, and there they were, ready to send us one our way… beautiful 30 foot waves, that was large enough to make us happy!


Places of Interest





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