Porto de Mós Castle

Porto de Mós castle looks unlike any other in Portugal, and the reason is that Afonso, Count of Ourém - the same man who rebuilt Ourém - remade it in the 1450s as a residence rather than a fortress, adding a loggia of arches on the courtyard side in an Italian manner and roofing the towers in green glazed tiles, which is what gives it the fairytale look from below. It stands on a hill above the town at the edge of the Serras de Aire e Candeeiros, the limestone karst country of caves and dry valleys. The building was wrecked by the 1755 earthquake and left ruined for two centuries; a long restoration completed in the 2000s rebuilt the roofs, floors and much of the fabric, so a large proportion of what visitors see is modern reconstruction on medieval foundations, which the site does acknowledge. Interpretation inside covers the castle and the region.

What you actually see

• The green turrets - glazed tile roofs that give the castle its distinctive look.
• The loggia - an Italianate arcade added in the 1450s facing the courtyard.
• The reconstruction - a modern rebuild on medieval foundations after two centuries of ruin.
• The karst setting - the limestone Serras de Aire e Candeeiros around the town.

When to go

April to October. One hour. Closed on some days; check before travelling.

Honest expectations

Much of what stands is twentieth and twenty-first century reconstruction rather than surviving fabric. The interior is largely empty with panel interpretation. Steep approach from the town. Small - an hour is enough.

Nearby

The Mira de Aire caves are south; Batalha and the dinosaur trackways are north.