Portugal's Leiria: An Unexpected Treat

In search of a place I’d actually live

Lovely Leiria (photo by author)

NOTE: After taking time off to deal with a family need, I am back to writing about my year spent searching for my next home in Portugal.

After a fun and somewhat chaotic year in Lisbon, I spent the next one living in different towns in Portugal. I wanted to get to know this beautiful country and its people better and to experience life in different areas. I was eager to see what the next chapter might look like…and where it would happen.

Let’s be honest. Living in different parts of Portugal was not always about staying in places I might consider moving. While I loved every minute of my time in the Azores on São Miguel Island, I am probably not going to be moving to an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean anytime soon.

Originally, my next stop was a cute and charming, small town in the north of Portugal. Instead of spending a week there where I was unlikely to live, I headed to Leiria, a town in central Portugal. During my travels, I had heard several people speak fondly of life in Leiria.

Upon further investigation, I learned that Leiria, with a population of over 128,000 residents, is well-connected by trains and buses to Lisbon and Porto, is located on a lovely river, and has plenty of shops, restaurants and even a couple of bars that showed sports. Leiria was a place I might consider living. 

Days in Leiria

As Leiria was a last minute change to the schedule, the best I could find for accommodations was a room in an aparthotel. When I walked in my room I found myself standing in an outdated hotel room that had two double beds, a small table and a pullman kitchen. It was a sad little room that only a traveling salesman on a budget would tolerate, but had floor to ceiling windows with a view of the castle. I held on to that small piece of goodwill when the room depressed me. 

My room rate included a halfway decent buffet breakfast so I’d start my days in the dining room with tourists and business travelers. I’d skip my morning galão so I could have it in a local café and experience normal life in Leiria. 

My first morning there, I walked through the park in front of my sad hotel, passed kids playing and people walking to work, crossed over the footbridge across the river and into the heart of the city center. I found a café that was buzzing with activity and took a seat against the wall in the back away from the bar with everyone else.

That café was my first stop every morning and I always took a seat in the back row with the others. It always felt like going to Sunday service in my childhood church where no one would sit in the front pews. I’d watch the same faces come and go as they got their days started, some standing at the counter for a quick espresso, and others joining me in the back row. 

Afterwards, I’d head back to work in my sad hotel room. Later in the day, as the sun began its descent, it would flood my room with heat, making the table I worked at feel like it was located in the epicenter of hell. That was my signal to head out for a walk about town and do a bit of exploring. I only had a week in Leiria and from first impressions, I could see it being a contender for my next home. I wanted to spend time getting to know it better.

Side Street in Leiria (photo by author)

I loved wandering the streets of Leiria. While the town has the typical elements that create the charm of popular Portuguese towns, to me it was less about the beauty of the town and more about the feeling of local life. People live in Leiria. They work there. Local people fill the streets during the day. While Leiria does attract visitors, you don’t walk in fear of being taken out by a Tuk Tuk tour or have to fight your way through a crowd blindly following their guide and creating an impenetrable line of clueless tourists.

Within a few days, I’d found all I needed in a town: a few good restaurants, my morning cafe, and, of course, a couple of places to watch football games. It had easy rail connections to the larger cities of Lisbon and Porto when I wanted a city break or to visit friends in Lisbon. 

Leira was not only a contender but a frontrunner.

Exploring Leiria’s Magical Castle

At this point in my travels, I am good if I never visit another castle. Check “see the castle” off my list. However, after staring out my window at Leiria’s picturesque castle for almost a week, I just had to go there. It was like we had bonded in some odd way. Making the decision easier, was the gondola that would take me up the steep mountain. 

Once at the top, I was ushered in as the first visitor of the day. After paying my entrance fee, I began the short climb to the castle grounds. As I grew closer, I started to experience all of the excitement I used to feel when I first began to explore the world. I walked into the well-preserved ruins of the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Pena, and wandered around bright-eyed as if I had just stepped off a plane in Europe for the first time

I took a seat on a church bench and stared at everything around me. I had this beautiful, peaceful place all to myself. Birds flew overhead visible through the open ceiling, adding even more beauty to the moment. 

Then it happened. Two loud, obnoxious, young girls, in search of the perfect “insta” moment, crashed my party of solitude. 

Fine. I left them in the church, trying to find the best light for their selfie, and headed to the castle. I continued my star-struck reverie, exploring every part of an exhibition on the rehabilitation of the castle, recently completed in 2021. I watched every second of a video about an archeologist excavating two sets of bones on the castle grounds that I spontaneously named Larry and Beatrice. This fit as later I found out that Queen Beatrice had lived in the castle. Interesting…maybe Beatrice was giving me a sign.

Michael Phelps Brings Me Back to Reality

After leaving the exhibits, I headed to the castle rooms with views of the city. There were few other tourists there so it was easy to snag a seat in one of the windows for a bit. As I stared out over the city, I spotted my sad hotel in the distance. It was not as inspiring as the rest of my view from the castle so I tried to focus on the other bits of the beautiful city. 

Finally, I tore myself away from the castle window and headed toward the exit. On my way out, I saw the União de Leiria football stadium just below the castle. Oddly enough, I spotted the name “Michael Phelps” on the stadium. The swimmer? On a football stadium?  My curiosity drove me to search online, ask local sports fans around town and even stop by the stadium to inquire at guest relations. No one, not even the guy in guest relations at the stadium had the answer. If anyone out there does know why Michael Phelps’s name is on the União de Leiria football stadium, I would be grateful for enlightenment on this matter.

Michael Phelps's Name on Uniao de Leiria Stadium (photo by author)

After being snapped out of my reverie by Michael Phelps, I headed back down the mountain via a different route. It had become HOT.  I needed to lose my leggings from under my dress before I incinerated. However, I was still a bit of a walk from where I was having lunch. I found what looked like a quiet area and slowly began to inch my leggings down. I took breaks, trying to look normal in case someone passed by. 

Finally, when my leggings were around my ankles, I quickly ripped my shoes off, pulled the leggings off and slipped my shoes back on. After my disrobing job was complete, I noticed two men who had been standing there all along, watching the show. I stood up tall, like ripping your leggings off in public was the most normal thing in the world and walked right past them, giving a toss of my hair while casually sliding on my sunglasses. 

The Leiria Treat is NOT a Treat 

The Leiria Treat is NOT a Treat 

As I wandered around Leiria, I kept seeing a pastry called the “Brisa do Lis”  that was often described as the best treat from Leiria. To me it just looked like an egg yolk which is not the least bit appealing to my palate. However, one day when I popped into a cafe for an afternoon tea, I read a detailed description of the ingredients which spoke of almonds and butter. I love both almonds and butter so decided to give it a go.

I ordered one of the “treats” and a tea and took a seat in the four-table cafe by the window facing the street. I savored the moment before tasting this quintessential Leirian treat, placing it on the table in front of me and taking a photo. Finally, after enough appreciation, I carefully lifted the delicate treat toward my mouth.

Gross. I wanted to spit it out. You served me a raw egg?!?!  At least that is what it tasted like to me. Not that I have ever had a raw egg but this had to be close if not spot on. I tried to force it down so as to not insult the cafe owner who seemed very proud of these treats he sold in large carry-away boxes. 

When the man was distracted, I put the rest of the treat in a napkin and shoved it in my pocketbook. After finishing my tea, I went to the register to pay.  He asked if I enjoyed everything and I smiled and said it was all wonderful, thinking to myself what was wonderful was being able to shove that egg into my pocketbook without him knowing. 

Fishing Boats on the Beach in Nazaré (photo by author)

The Updated Lists of Contenders

Despite the massive failure of the Brisa do Lis, I quite liked Leiria. There are places to watch sports in the bars and in person at the stadium for the local team with its odd Michael Phelps reference. There are plenty of lively cafés for a morning galão and quaint streets to wander. I could see myself living comfortably in this lovely city on the River Lis. 

As I’d been traveling around, I’d experienced love at first sight in Nazaré, a small town by the sea. I fell quickly for its peaceful existence by the water and local feel despite being a popular tourist destination during summer and big wave season. I could always easily see myself living there and hated to leave.

My next stop after Nazaré had been Braga, a good-sized city in the north. While in Braga, I had never considered it as a serious contender.  However, the more I experienced other places, the more I thought fondly of my time in Braga. I began to think of it as I considered where I might spend my next full year.

At this point, there seemed to be three contenders on the list..