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A local map of the Silver Coast, from Nazaré
We ride this coast every week. Some places we send every guest to. Others we share with the people who ask the right questions. This page is the latter — a working map of the spots our guides stop at: clifftop sanctuaries, UNESCO monasteries, dinosaur tracks pressed into 175-million-year-old limestone, fishing villages where lunch is whatever the boats brought in. Click any pin for a short note from us, plus a one-tap link to open it in Google Maps.
Explore the map
Tap a marker to read why we love it. Use the Google Maps link to drop the pin straight into your phone — handy when you're planning a self-guided ride or a rest-day road trip.
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Sítio
The historic clifftop district of Nazaré, offering spectacular panoramic views and home to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Nazaré.
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Nazaré
A picturesque fishing village famous for its giant waves, rich maritime culture, and beautiful beaches.
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Nazaré North Beach
The world-famous big wave surfing spot where record-breaking waves are surfed during winter months, located beneath the iconic Nazaré lighthouse.
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Praia do Salgado
A long, wild Atlantic beach south of Nazaré framed by dunes and golden cliffs, popular with surfers and walkers seeking open shore away from the crowds.
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São Martinho do Porto
A coastal town wrapped around a near-perfect shell-shaped bay, where calm, shallow waters and a sheltered shoreline make it one of the safest swimming spots on the Silver Coast.
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Óbidos Lagoon
The largest saltwater lagoon in Portugal and an important ecological site, hosting diverse bird species and aquatic life in its wetland habitats.
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Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça
Founded by Portugal's first King, D. Afonso Henriques, in 1153, through a donation to Bernard of Clairvaux (France), the Monastery of Alcobaça is one of the largest and best-preserved Cistercian monasteries in all of Europe, and was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1989.
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Castelo de Alcobaça
Hilltop ruins of a medieval castle of Moorish origin, reconquered in 1148 by D. Afonso Henriques and watching over the town and monastery of Alcobaça with sweeping views across the valley.
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Batalha
Batalha is a town and a municipality in historical Beira Litoral province, and Leiria district in the Centro of Portugal. The town's name means "battle".
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Fátima
One of the most important Catholic pilgrimage sites in the world, famous for the reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary to three shepherd children in 1917.
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Pegadas de Dinossauro
A clifftop plateau where fossilised dinosaur tracks, left some 145 million years ago in what was then a shallow lagoon, run beside sweeping views of the Atlantic.
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Monte de São Bartolomeu
Its historical, religious and natural significance is undeniable. It is connected to the Legend of Our Lady of Nazareth, as seen in the double nomenclature (S. Brás and S. Bartolomeu), which comes from the relics of these saints brought by King Rodrigo and Friar Romano.
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São Pedro de Moel
A charming seaside resort town with a picturesque lighthouse, beautiful beach, and surrounded by pine forests.
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Porto de Mós
Porto de Mós is a historic town nestled in Portugal’s Central Region, within the Aire and Candeeiros Mountains Natural Park. It’s renowned for its striking medieval castle, its proximity to São Jorge — site of the decisive 1385 Battle of Aljubarrota that secured Portugal’s independence.
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Igreja de São Gião
São Gião is one of the oldest churches in Portugal. Various research projects have revealed traces of human occupation from the Roman period to the 18th century.
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Jardim do Amor
Beautiful, romantic spot tied to the legendary story of Pedro I and Inês de Castro.
How to use this guide
These pins are not a checklist. Pick the three or four that sound most like your kind of day, build a loop, and leave room for the unplanned coffee stop or detour. We're biased — most of these are reachable on two wheels from one of our rental hubs, and our guides know the quietest way to get there.
Open in Google Maps
Every place has a one-tap link that drops the pin directly into your phone — for navigation, saved-list planning, or sharing with the friend you're riding with.
Reachable on two wheels
Most pins are inside an IronDeer guided-tour radius. Want a route between three of them? Talk to us — we'll trace it on Komoot before you arrive.
Real local notes
No copy-paste tourism brochure. Each note is what one of our guides would actually tell you if you asked at coffee.
Frequently asked questions about visiting Nazaré and the Silver Coast
Still planning? Here are the questions our guides hear most often from cyclists and travellers heading to Nazaré. Don't see yours? Send us a message — we answer within the day.
The best places to visit near Nazaré sit within a 50-kilometre radius and span UNESCO monasteries, medieval walled towns, dinosaur fossils and quiet Atlantic beaches. Our short list: Alcobaça and Batalha (two UNESCO-listed Cistercian and Gothic monasteries), Fátima (the major Marian pilgrimage sanctuary), Óbidos (the walled medieval town), São Martinho do Porto (the shell-shaped bay), the Pegadas de Dinossauro in the Serra de Aire (175-million-year-old sauropod tracks), and Sítio — the clifftop village above Nazaré's famous big-wave beach. Most are reachable by bike on quiet inland roads.
All four sit within an easy day-trip radius from Nazaré. Alcobaça is about 13 km (20 minutes by car), São Martinho do Porto 12 km, Batalha around 35 km, Óbidos about 40 km and Fátima around 45 km. By bike, our guides typically build loops that link two or three of these in a single day — for example Nazaré → Alcobaça → São Martinho do Porto for a moderate day, or Nazaré → Batalha → Fátima for fitter riders on road bikes or e-bikes.
Yes — these are some of the most rewarding rides on Portugal's Silver Coast. Nazaré to Alcobaça is the gentlest at about 13 km along the Alcoa river valley, a popular half-day route. Nazaré to Batalha is around 35 km through eucalyptus forest, finishing at the Gothic monastery. Fátima at roughly 45 km is best ridden as a full day or as part of a multi-day cycling holiday. We rent road bikes, gravel bikes and e-bikes from our shop in central Nazaré, and our guides plot the quietest backroads on Komoot before you arrive.
Plenty. Nazaré is best known for the world-record Praia do Norte big waves at the Sítio clifftop, but the town itself is a working Portuguese fishing village with its own historic centre, the funicular up to Sítio, the Forte de São Miguel Arcanjo lighthouse and the long sweep of the southern beach. Within an easy bike ride you'll also find the Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça, the Castelo de Alcobaça, São Martinho do Porto's shell-shaped bay and the dramatic Atlantic clifftops at Sítio and Praia do Salgado.
The largest known set of sauropod footprints in the world is at the Monumento Natural das Pegadas de Dinossauro da Serra de Aire, about 50 km inland from Nazaré near the village of Bairro and the town of Fátima. The site preserves trackways pressed into limestone roughly 175 million years ago during the Middle Jurassic — single footprints over a metre wide and a continuous trackway running for more than 140 metres. It pairs naturally with a visit to Fátima or Batalha and our guides include it on inland Silver Coast tours.
The Silver Coast — Costa de Prata in Portuguese — is the stretch of Atlantic shoreline between Lisbon and Porto. It runs through Centro Portugal and includes Nazaré, Peniche, São Martinho do Porto, Foz do Arelho and Figueira da Foz on the coast, and Alcobaça, Batalha, Fátima and Óbidos inland. The name refers to the silver light reflected off the Atlantic. It's quieter than the Algarve, packs two UNESCO monasteries, a major pilgrimage site, walled medieval towns and a string of fishing villages into a small area, and is ideal for a bike-led trip.
Yes — Óbidos is one of the best-preserved walled medieval towns in Portugal, with whitewashed streets, a 12th-century castle and a famously narrow main street (Rua Direita). It sits about 40 km from Nazaré and pairs well with the Óbidos lagoon (Lagoa de Óbidos) on the coast. By car it is a 35-minute trip; by bike it makes a long-day loop, which most riders combine with the Foz do Arelho lagoon for a swim and lunch. Best visited mid-week and outside July and August to avoid the largest tour-bus crowds.
April to June and September to October are the sweet spot — warm but not hot, long daylight hours, fewer crowds and the most stable cycling weather. July and August are warmer and busier, with higher accommodation prices and full restaurants in Nazaré, but the sea is at its warmest. November to February brings the giant winter swells at Praia do Norte (peak big-wave season), shorter days and cooler rides — still very ridable, especially on e-bikes; just pack layers and check the forecast.
Plan a Silver Coast bike tour around your favourite pins
Tell us the two or three places that caught your eye and we'll route a guided bike tour or self-guided cycling itinerary between them. Our Nazaré-based Silver Coast tours link the area's best landmarks — Alcobaça, Batalha, Fátima, Óbidos and São Martinho do Porto — at the right pace and on the right bike. Road, gravel, e-bike or hybrid, from half-day rides in the Serra de Aire to multi-day cycling holidays along Portugal's Atlantic coast.