(This day trip was part of a 9-day trip through the Center and North of Portugal. To learn more about this trip, read the article 9 days through the Center and North of Portugal)

Day 1 – Saturday (20/08/2022)

We left Cascais in the morning and drove for 1h30 to Leiria, as we wanted to visit its famous Castle. As we arrived close to lunchtime, we parked the car in the historic center and went straight to a restaurant that we had read good reviews about, the Kill Animal Tavern. We managed to sit at a table outside with a view of the aforementioned place and the kids had a great time playing with the pigeons that wouldn't leave. The service was good and the food was good too, but the octopus I ordered didn't even compare to the octopus in Cascais... lol.

We left lunch and walked to the city's main attraction, passing through charming alleys, through Leiria Cathedral (1554) and then taking the free city elevator. From up there we could already see a beautiful view, which gave us the energy to continue climbing to the top of the hill.

We arrived at the Castle very tired, bought the tickets (adults 2.10 euros, seniors 1.05 euros and children up to 10 years old free) and started the tour telling stories of fights to keep the little one excited.

A little history: THE Leiria Castle Its construction began in 1135 at the request of Dom Afonso Henriques and, together with Pombal, Ourém and Tomar, it was part of the defense system of central Portugal. At the beginning of the 14th century, Dom Dinis transformed the castle into a royal residence for himself and his wife, Isabel of Aragon, but several monarchs were dazzled by the fantastic landscape that can be seen from the top of the hill.

We started by walking along the wall and enjoying the views from every possible angle, then we climbed the tower, passed through the characteristic and Instagrammable arches, and finally went to the Gothic church of Nossa Senhora da Pena. Everything is very well preserved, especially because in 2021 the renovation works of a large part of the space were completed, so it was a pleasant surprise.

We went down the hill easily and went straight to LuziClara Pastry Shop, eat the typical sweet from Leiria, Brisa do Liz/ Brisa do Lis. I confess that I expected an imposing bakery and that I was disappointed when I saw a corner bakery with few attractions, but I loved the sweet. It has eggs, sugar and almonds, very similar to our quindim, which instead of almonds has grated coconut.

Driving to the hotel in Ílhavo

We took the car and drove for 1 hour to our hotel in Ílhavo, the Ilhavo Plaza Hotel & Spa. We arrived around 6pm and it was time to give Ju and Paddy dinner, so I ended up ordering soup and an omelette at the hotel bar, which was a great help. We went up to our rooms, took a shower, got ready, put Ju to sleep in the stroller and went to dinner at the reserved time in the restaurant. Old House, which is located inside the hotel and overlooks the pool. I thought the atmosphere was really cool and I was immediately excited when they offered us sparkling wine at the entrance. The menu with starter, main course, dessert and drink had few options and cost 24 euros per person, and we liked everything. We took the elevator and went to bed!

All posts from this trip

If you want to know more about this 9-day trip through the Center and North of Portugal, see the posts below:

• An afternoon in Leiria
• 1 day in Costa Nova and Aveiro
• 1 day between Aveiro and Barcelos
• Getting to know Ponte de Lima and Viana do Castelo in 1 day
• Our 1-day itinerary in Braga
• 1 day in Guimarães, the birthplace of Portugal
• 1 day in the Entre-os-Rios region, in the Douro
• Getting to know Águeda and the famous Bairrada roast suckling pig
• Stopping in Nazaré on the way to Cascais