Sines Castle

Sines castle sits on the low cliff above the town beach, a fourteenth-century fortification rebuilt several times, with a keep, walls and a courtyard. Vasco da Gama was born in Sines around 1469 and the tradition places his birth inside the castle, his father having been the town's alcaide - the claim is plausible but not documented, and the museum in the keep says as much while covering the navigator's voyages, the town's archaeology and its maritime history. A statue of Gama stands outside the walls looking at the sea. What sits behind all this is the other Sines: since the 1970s the town has been the site of one of Europe's largest deep-water ports and a petrochemical complex, whose tanks and cranes are visible from the castle and dominate the local economy. The beach below the walls is sheltered and sandy, and Porto Covo is a short drive south.

What you actually see

• The keep museum - Vasco da Gama's voyages and the town's maritime archaeology.
• The birth tradition - a claim the museum presents honestly as tradition, not record.
• The town beach - sheltered sand directly below the castle walls.
• The port - the deep-water terminal and petrochemical works in full view.

When to go

April to October. One hour. The museum closes on Mondays and over lunch.

Honest expectations

The industrial port dominates the setting and surprises visitors expecting a picturesque coastal town. The castle is small and heavily rebuilt. The Gama birthplace claim is traditional rather than proven. Museum hours are short.

Nearby

Porto Covo is south; the Lagoa de Santo André is north.