Caldas da Rainha

The bustling market town of Caldas da Rainha lies just 15 minutes from some of the prettiest but deserted beaches of northern Portugal.

The town was founded by Dona Leonor, Queen of Portugal in 1485 and has passed through history with little involvement in the many struggles for power between the various warring armies. It is more a centre of thermal cures, a bountiful fruit farming area and a productive ceramic industry. Dona Leonor chose this location to be the seat for her personal creation, the charitable Foundação da Misericórdia that is still very active in Portugal today. The original purpose of the Foundation was to build and manage hospitals and homes for the old and needy. Today, the Foundation has spread its wings in obtaining funds and they run all forms of Lotteries in Portugal!

In this town the original Chapel of the first Misericórdia hospital was used as a base for the 15th Century present Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Pópulo, designed and built by Diogo Boitac, the same architect who created the imposing Mosteiro dos Jeróminos in Belém in Lisbon. This Church is reputed to be the largest ever built within Portugal. Other than this church the there are two more places of main interest. The first is the Museu de José Malhoa that is named after an accomplished artist of the late 19th and early 20th Century. This museum also houses the works of his contemporaries, particularly that of the equally famous ceramist Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro. The second place is the Museu de Cerâmica housed in the old home of the Visconde de Sacavém that has a large collection of hand painted objects including tiles from the last two centuries. Also in this town is a national museum devoted to the sport of Cycling.

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