A walk through historic Tomar
The Câmara's own self-guided route: a loop of the town along the river, then up the hill to the castle and the Convento de Cristo.
Follow the numbers. The town loop is flat and easy; the hill trail climbs through the woods to the castle. Pick up the free paper map at the Posto de Turismo on the way.
The town loop
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Start: Casa Vieira Guimarães and the Corredoura
Start by the old bridge, with the castle and the Convento de Cristo on the hill above you. Then walk up the Corredoura (Rua Serpa Pinto), the main street, named after the jousting the Templar knights practised here, “correr as lanças”. Look up at the art nouveau fronts and their tiles, stop for a traditional pastry, and near the far end look in at Café Paraíso, the old café that is part of the street's history.
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Praça da República and São João Baptista
The heart of town: the town hall and the parish church face each other across the square, with Gualdim Pais, Templar Master and founder of Tomar, standing between them. The church went up in the 16th century over 12th-century foundations. Look for the Gothic doorway, the octagonal Manueline clock tower and, inside, the panels by Gregório Lopes.
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The Synagogue
In the middle of the old Jewish quarter stands the oldest synagogue still standing in Portugal, from the mid-1400s, now the Museu Luso-Hebraico Abraão Zacuto. As you walk on down the street, look out for the carved details on the houses and, a little further on the left, two 15th-century windows that have kept their original look.
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Casa Memória Lopes-Graça
A few doors along, the house where Fernando Lopes-Graça, one of Portugal's great 20th-century composers, was born in 1906.
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The Levada
This stretch was won from the river in the reign of Manuel I, and the water channelled here drove the flour mills, olive presses, a foundry and later the power station that made Tomar an industrial town. It's now a cultural complex, and the best place to see how the town lived off the Nabão.
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The Estaus
Keep straight on to the roundabout: the Gothic arches set into a building's front are all that's left of the lodgings Prince Henry the Navigator built for people coming to town on the Order's business.
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Casa dos Cubos
On the bank of the Nabão, the Order of Christ's old rent warehouse, now an award-winning arts and photography centre. Carry on along the river and the bell tower of Santa Maria do Olival comes into view.
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Santa Maria do Olival
Cross the river and look back: the houses, the green of the Mata dos Sete Montes and the castle walls, all in one view. Then visit the Templars' own church, where their Masters are buried, and picture the tunnels that legend says lead from here to the castle.
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Capela de Santa Iria
Back across the river and through the Arco das Freiras to the chapel of Santa Iria, the town's patron saint, right by the water where her legend begins.
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The Ponte Velha
Keep to the left bank to the old bridge, the Ponte de D. Manuel I. It has been rebuilt many times, above all in the 16th century, but it still has the look of a Roman bridge.
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The Mouchão and its water wheel
When the town spread along the riverbanks, only the Mouchão island survived of the old islets. Take the footbridge, walk under the trees and find the Roda do Mouchão, the wooden water wheel that has become the emblem of Tomar.
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Núcleo de Arte Contemporânea
If you still have time, pop into the contemporary art centre, and try a local pastry nearby if you haven't yet.
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The Matches Museum
Finish the town loop in the Convento de São Francisco, at a museum like no other in Portugal: more than 60,000 matchboxes, labels and matchbooks.
Up the hill to the castle
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Mata Nacional dos Sete Montes
Climb through the Order of Christ's old walled woods and gardens, a cool, quiet way up the hill. Look out for the little Charolinha on the way.
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The Templar castle
Founded by Gualdim Pais in 1160. Walk the walls and the old village inside them before you go into the convent.
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Convento de Cristo
The seat of the Order of Christ and a UNESCO World Heritage Site: the round Charola, the Manueline window, the great cloisters and, out in the valley, the Pegões aqueduct. Give it time.
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Ermida de Nossa Senhora da Conceição
On the way down, João de Castilho's small Renaissance chapel, with one of the best views over the town.
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Capela de São Gregório
The last stop: an octagonal chapel with a Renaissance dome, whose Manueline doorway echoes the Chapter House window of the Convento de Cristo.