The fairytale town near Lisbon where a week costs £403
There's a fairytale quality to Obidos. Straddling a bluff 40 miles north of Lisbon and once the residence of Portuguese queens, the original, incredibly pretty village at its heart is enclosed by a fully intact Moorish defensive wall. Whitewashed houses with blue or yellow stripes line the narrow streets up to the turret-laden castle; cats snooze on steps; footsteps clack on cobblestones; honeysuckle perfumes corners; and vast views beckon down alleys.
Day-trippers reliably materialise between 11am and 5pm, but stay in Obidos and you'll get to experience a wonderfully authentic town in the surrounding hours, most memorably at sunset when an exquisite golden light takes hold.
It's possible to walk the entire Moorish wall for free. Up to 13m high and accessed via four staircases, this mile-long circuit may lack railings (or any sort of safety provision), but it affords views over the town's terracotta roofs and towards the Atlantic coast over the vast, T-shaped Obidos Lagoon.
Much of the 13th-century castle is now a hotel, but visitors may enter its main courtyard. The elegant Santa Maria church has blue-and-white azulejo tiles and canvases by Josefa de Obidos, a renowned 17th-century painter who settled here. Perhaps her best work, Beneficiado Faustino das Neves, a dramatic, death-centred chiaroscuro portrait, hangs in the adjacent Municipal Museum (free; turismo.obidos.pt).
No more than five minutes' walk from all this is the Pousada Vila Obidos hotel. This converted 18th-century house contains 17 traditional-style rooms whose high ceilings, flowery print wallpapers and picture windows create a beautifully calming atmosphere.The old centre's bookshop-lined main street, Ruta Direita, descends to its main gate, Porta da Vila, which features a blue-tiled balcony shrine. Catching the eye just beyond is a two-mile aqueduct built in the 1500s.
Obidos's other claim to fame is the production of ginja — an intensely flavoured liqueur made from sour morello cherries. Available everywhere, it's often served in edible chocolate cups for extra decadence. Try the small Ibn Errik Rex tavern; if you're peckish, you could also have sausages grilled tableside (ginja from £3; Rua Direita 100).
Fill your week with boat rides and paddleboarding on the lagoon (20 minutes' drive away), bike rides around the dunes, or head to Bom Sucesso beach for safe swimming. Also close are the Unesco-listed Alcobaca and Batalha monasteries: Cistercian and Dominican complexes respectively, with royal tombs and grand cloisters.
• 10 of the most beautiful places in Portugal (and how to see them)
Buses take an hour from Lisbon's Campo Grande bus station, stopping just beside Porta da Vila and leaving you with a five-minute uphill walk to the hotel. They're hourly on weekdays, every two hours at weekends (£8; rodoviariadooeste.pt). Trains from Lisbon take twice as long to reach a small station that's less convenient, so ignore those.
• Return Stansted-Lisbon flights, departing on June 3• 20kg hold luggage• Seven nights' room only at Pousada Vila Obidos (thomascook.com)
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Feeling flush? If you're inspired by Obidos and have more to spend, try one of these:
About 20m from the city walls, the Real d'Obidos is a 14th-century residence turned old-fashioned hotel. All 18 rooms are air-conditioned and surround a medieval-style lounge and honesty bar. The biggest selling point is a 13m swimming pool in the garden, open from June, with a games room (including a snooker table) adding to the appeal. Superior rooms offer castle views.Details Six nights' B&B from £899pp, including flights and car hire, departing on June 5 (sunvil.co.uk)
• Read our full guide to Portugal
For maximum flex stay in Obidos's castle itself, a building considered to be one of Portugal's seven ancient wonders. A sister property to the Pousada Vila, the Pousada Castelo Obidos has 17 baronial-style bedrooms — nine in the original fortress — featuring vaulted ceilings, chandeliers, fireplaces and four-poster beds. Some have balconies. There's a formal restaurant serving regional dishes, plus you get access to towers where members of the public can't tread.Details Six nights' B&B in a suite from £1,644pp, including flights and private transfers, departing on May 31 (expedia.co.uk)
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