Alcobaça & Batalha Monasteries tour

Learn about why Alcobaça Monastery was one of the most important centers in all of Europe of the Order of the Cistercians. They were led by Bernard of Claraval (later made “Saint Bernard”). A relative of the first king of Portugal, Bernard was a mystic, a religious reformer and a preacher that the hear of popes and kings and was one of the most influential personalities of XII century Europe. The Alcobaça monastery was the last new cistercian center he approved before passing away, putting his weight behind the cause of Portugal: fighting off the moors and becoming an internationally recognized independent nation.  

“Pray and Work” was the motto of the Cistercians and they left something of a profane legacy in Alcobaça too: in farming (Alcobaça apples are the best of the country), in the famous ginjinha liqueur and also in their celebrated conventual pastry, which you will be able to taste after the tour. 

Batalha Monastery (XIV-XV century) is a true and unique masterpiece of European architecture (late Portuguese Gothic and Manueline style). You will be able to see the marvelous royal pantheon, the resting place of King D. João I and England born Queen D. Filipa de Lencastre and also and their famous offspring: they would be later described by Camões as the “Ínclita Geração”, the “Illustrous Generation”. They were immensely consequential to the history of the country- and the world. Among them, King D. João II and Henry the Navigator, two key actors in the Portuguese Discoveries around the world, which paved the way for Portugal to become the first global empire. 

The Monastery of Batalha was built to commemorate the decisive victory of the Portuguese in the Battle (“Batalha”) of Aljubarrota in 1386 against the Kingdom of Castille. It became a symbol of national independence and marked the beginning of a new era in the history of Portugal. 

Consecrated to the Virgin Mary, the monastery was run by the monks of the Dominican Order, who lived and worshiped here for over 600 years, inspired by the colored lights of the stained glass of the cathedral, the first of its kind in the country.