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's there

• 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.

Practical notes

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.

Key facts