[4] The city of Alcobaça became notable after the first king of Portugal, Afonso Henriques, decided to build a church to commemorate the Conquest of Santarém from the Moors in 1147.

A few kilometers to the north of Alcobaça is the Monastery of Batalha, another Gothic building constructed in memory of a different important battle, that of Aljubarrota.

Shortly after the death of his father, Pedro declared that he had married Inês in a prior secret ceremony in Bragança, and took a gruesome revenge on the killers and exhumed her body.

He presented the embalmed corpse at the court with a crown on her head and demanded that all his courtiers kneel and individually pay homage to her decomposed hand.

Administratively, the municipality is divided into 13 civil parishes (freguesias):[8] The main feature of the city is essentially the monastery that proudly presents a long and sombre façade with 18th-century embellishments.

In contrast within the Abbey is the massive kitchen with a running stream specially diverted to pass through as a supply of fresh water.

To the east of Batalha is the world-famous location of Fátima and a point of pilgrimage for the Roman Catholic religion due to the vision of the Virgin Mary in 1917 by three young children whilst tending their flock.

A very successful Portuguese feature film was made in the early 20th century that dramatically captured the primitive and dangerous life of these fishermen.

To the south is Caldas da Rainha and the quaint medieval town of Óbidos that is an attraction for any tourists that enjoys a true glimpse of the past.