The city owes its name to the thermal spring much appreciated by Queen D. Leonor, wife of D. João II, king of Portugal in the 15th century, who had the opportunity to prove the healing properties of these waters when they healed a wound that had not healed for a long time. The Queen ordered the construction of a Hospital here, around which the village that became known as “Caldas da Rainha” was formed.
But what are the things not to be missed?
Here’s a TOP 10.
1. Take a picture next to the statue of Bordalo Pinheiro (caricaturist, artist, ceramist, and much more) and his best-known character Zè Povinho
2. Visit the fruit market in Praça da República and buy some typical products
3. Stroll through Parque D Carlos
4. Buy Bordalo Pinheiro ceramics directly at the factory (and at the outlet on the first floor)
5. Make a break to eat the traditional “Cavaca”
6. Visit the Malhoa Museum and be speechless in front of the Passion of Christ in clay by Bordalo Pinheiro
7. Visit the Hospital Museum and discover the history of the city and the first thermal center and book a visit to Piscina da Rainha where this miraculous water is still born
8. Discover the tradition of phallic forms (King D Luis asked for a funny object to amuse his friends. João Pereira, using the ceramic technique of the time, invented a monochromatic phallus)
9. Visit the Ceramica museum, inside an old house
10. Buy local products at the old Pena grocery store, open since 1909
Where to buy the cavacas:
- Pastry shop Baia o rei das cavacas Rua da Liberdade 33
- Pastry shop Machado Rua de Camões 41
- Forno do Beco, Beco do Forno
For a lunch break
- o Canas R Dr. Julio Lopes 15
- Tacho Tv do parque 15
- Casa Antero, Beco do Forno