Tomar and the Convent of Christ

It's sometimes difficult to get time off, but last Tuesday, instead of working, I took my parents to Tomar. It's a very pretty little town, with narrow streets and a river with a variety of bridges of different heritages, but the star attraction is the Convent of Christ, on the hilltop overlooking the town centre.

As a photographer, I could have spent days there, capturing the historic details and sculptured adornments. Our mistake was to have lunch in the town before attacking the convent, so we were rather rushed and tired before we reached the end.

Enough to say the convent is HUGE! Better to arrive mid-morning, explore some, have a snack lunch at the café, and continue all afternoon. Photographers should note that the most famous photographable detail, a huge manueline window, is only in full sun from mid-afternoon. Another hint, take a tripod to capture the atmoshperic interiors - I took one but was in too much of a rush to use it.

All in all, highly recommended - possibly the most impressive historic building I have yet visited in Portugal.