Batalha Monastery

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Monastery Of Batalha (1983) Gothic And Manueline Monastery Built To Mark The Victory Of Aljubarrota (1385) · Batalha, Leiria

The Monastery of Batalha, officially Santa Maria da Vitoria, is one of the great Gothic buildings of Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983. King Joao I vowed to build it before the battle of Aljubarrota on 14 August 1385, when a smaller Portuguese army defeated Castile and secured the country's independence; work began in 1386 and went on for well over a century, from Gothic into the ornate Manueline style. People come for the soaring church, the Founder's Chapel with the tombs of Joao I and Philippa of Lancaster lying hand in hand beside their sons, among them Henry the Navigator, the lacy stone tracery of the Royal Cloister, the vast unsupported vault of the Chapter House with the tomb of the Unknown Soldiers, and the roofless Unfinished Chapels. It is easy to combine with Fatima and Alcobaca. The honest caveats: the visit takes about an hour or two, the town around it is small, and a busy main road runs right past the monastery.

Mosteiro de Santa Maria da Vitoria, Largo Infante Dom Henrique, Batalha, beside the IC2 between Leiria and Porto de Mos, Batalha, Leiria, Portugal

Open daily roughly from 09:00 to 18:00-18:30 in summer and to about 17:30 in winter, with last entry before closing; closed on a few public holidays such as 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May and 25 December - confirm, and confirm whether any part closes on Mondays. The church is usually free; the cloisters, Chapter House and Unfinished Chapels are ticketed. There is no railway: come by car on the A1 and A19 or by coach from Lisbon or Leiria. No advance booking is usually needed.

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