Almourol Castle
Templar Castle Of 1171 On An Island In The Tagus, Reached Only By A Short Boat Crossing; National Monument · Vila Nova da Barquinha, Santarem
Almourol Castle stands on a small rocky island in the middle of the river Tejo near Tancos, roughly 25-30 km south of Tomar, and it looks exactly like a castle from a storybook: high walls and round towers rising straight out of the water, with a square keep above them. An inscription over the gate records that Gualdim Pais, Master of the Templars, built it in 1171, as part of the line of castles defending the river frontier against the Moors; an older fort probably stood on the rock before. Later it lost its military use, and it was heavily restored in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, so much of what you see is a romantic rebuild. It has always drawn legends, of a giant, a captive princess and a lover, and it appears in a sixteenth-century chivalric romance. You reach it only by a short boat ride from the quay at Tancos. The honest caveat: it is small, an hour or so including the crossing, the inside is bare stone, and the boat stops when the river is in flood; it is best combined with Tomar.
Castelo de Almourol on a rocky islet in the river Tejo, reached by boat from the Almourol quay at Tancos, Vila Nova da Barquinha, Vila Nova da Barquinha, Santarem, Portugal
The castle is usually open daily, roughly from morning to early evening with a lunch break, and for shorter hours in winter; it may close on some public holidays and whenever the boat cannot cross - confirm the season's hours and the last crossing. The boat leaves the Almourol quay at Tancos every few minutes on demand when it runs, with a small fare; there is no advance booking for individuals. It is about 1.5 hours from Lisbon by motorway, and the nearest railway stops are Tancos or the small Almourol halt on the Beira Baixa line (confirm).