Today was perhaps not our best day… or at least not the first half. I had planned to visit the Tile Museum (I know it sounds super boring, but there nothing boring about the Azulejo tiles of Portugal) but turns out it’s closed on Mondays. So we decide to head to a small town about one and a half hours from Lisbon. I book our bus tickets, google where the bus leaves from and we begin our walk there picking up a little breakfast pastel de nata on the way. Of course no walk is easy in Lisbon and we have our now expected cardio session on the hills and stairs of Lisbon. When we finally get to our destination, we find it is not where we need to be and is in fact a long way from it. We decide to call a Bolt (Uber) as it is the only way we could possibly make our bus on time, only it literally gets cancelled on us about 15 times. Frustrated, I quickly go back online and cancel our tickets, booking a later bus and eventually a driver arrives and gets us to the other side of the city. So much wasted time which means that we are only going to arrive at our destination after 2pm which gives a very small exploration window. Oh well- that’s how it goes sometimes. 

Nazare is known worldwide for its record-breaking monster waves ridden by professional surfers (sadly not to be seen at this time of year) and holds the record for the largest wave ever surfed in the world- over 80feet. 

This little beach town remains a quintessential fishing village and as we wandered along the beach I noticed one of the many remnants of its fishing days… a series of colourful fishing boats that take pride of place on the sand by the promenade. Each has a distinctive paint job, but all bear the name “Nazaré”. Cute. 

We eventually hopped on the funicular that since the late 19th century has connected the lower town (in the centre by the beach) with the clifftop SítioDistrict. As we ascended, we enjoyed stunning panoramic views of the Atlantic and the town below.

Almost immediately after exiting the funicular, we arrived at Mirador del Suberco which offers more sweeping views of the terracotta roofs of the city and coastline below.

There was a nice looking restaurant/bar that seemed perfect for a little wine but we thought that with so little time, it wasn’t our priority. At least not yet. A few vendors hawked their tourist nicnacs, drinks and snacks and we passed a cute little shop with surfing memorabilia and art and craft. 

And then on the edge of the mirador we saw the chapel of Our Lady of Nazare (also known as the Chapel of the Miracles Memory) which is actually what had brought me here.

I had seen some pictures of the tiny chapel and I’d been obsessed with it ever since. I’m sure many people would think I am crazy to spend all day to get to a little chapel that literally takes two minutes to visit but that’s the travel crazy in me 🤷🏼‍♀️. 

This tiny chapel is packed with history and religious significance with an intriguing legend about the Virgin Mary saving a nobleman from a fatal fall. It is also stunning! The interior azulejo tiles had me awestruck and stepping inside truly felt like being hugged by history.

The 14th century Sanctuary of Our Lady of Nazare was our next stop… a typical Portuguese church…

… with a beautiful wooden ceiling and extraordinary decorations…

also housing a statue of Mary breastfeeding baby Jesus. This wooden statue is traditionally from the 1st century and is believed to have been carved by St. Joseph and painted by St. Luke. It also had extraordinary azulejo tile work like the tiny chapel visited earlier. 

There was more to see but time was already moving on so we decided to stop by the restaurant seen earlier for a drink and a nibble… no such luck as it was just closing. So we headed back down the funicular and found a little bar on the beach where we could soak up the laid-back, beachy energy and have a wine and cheese platter before our bus journey home.