Santarem

Santarém is a city and municipality in the Santarém district, situated on a prominent limestone escarpment above the north bank of the Tagus river. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in Portugal, with settlement evidence from the prehistoric period, and was one of the most important cities in medieval Portugal.

The city is known for its exceptional concentration of Gothic religious architecture, earning it the unofficial title of capital of Gothic architecture in Portugal. The church of Nossa Senhora da Graça contains the tomb of Pedro Álvares Cabral, the explorer who reached Brazil in 1500. The Janela do Capítulo of the Convento de São João de Deus is one of the finest surviving Manueline window frames in the country.

For pilgrims on the Camino Português, Santarém is the most significant historic city between Lisbon and Coimbra, and the views from the Portas do Sol gardens over the Tagus floodplain are among the most celebrated on the entire Portuguese route.