Palmela village
Palmela is a Portuguese village in the district of Setúbal. The town and municipality has a population of 62 831 people. In the locality, we find the Castelo de Palmela as the main attraction of the village, the Casa Mãe da Rota dos Vinhos where we can depart for the guided tours of the Setúbal Peninsula Wine Route, the Moinhos Vivos de Palmela, located in the Parque Natural da Arrábida, where regional history and culture are told through a natural itinerary, with centenary mills, and with experiences such as workshops, interaction with donkeys or gastronomic tastings of dishes in a wood oven.
The local viewpoints are one of the attractions, allowing panoramic observation of the locality and allowing, on a clear day, to see up to Cristo Rei (Almada) or the Pena Palace (Sintra). Among these, we highlight the Miradouro de Palmela, located in the castle, and from where it is possible to get a panoramic view over the village and the Serra da Arrábida. Another prominent viewpoint is the São Sebastião Viewpoint, characterized by its pergola, the privileged view of the sunset and by covering the landscape offered by the riverside, the Serra da Arrábida and the Fort of São Filipe. In addition to seeing the landscape, Palmela also invites us to enter it actively, playing golf. Palmela Golf – an 18-hole course, set in a luxurious complex with natural surroundings and all the necessary infrastructure for well-being – and Montado Hotel & Golf Resort – located on the Costa Azul and known for its 18th hole, located on an island – are examples of places where we can do it.
Finally, we can visit the church of Santiago de Palmela, the church of Misericórdia, and for even more intense cultural immersion moments, we can visit the collective of Teatro o Bando, founded in 1974, and which represents one of the oldest cultural cooperatives in Portugal. Palmela is a highly sought-after place due to the high quality of the schools that make up the municipality’s education system, namely the Colégio Aires Real, the International School of Palmela, and the St Peter’s School. Regarding the gastronomy of Palmela, a special reference for the caramel soup, the kid roasted in the oven, the rabbit to the peasant of Palmela, the streaked apple, pear cooked in muscatel of Setúbal and the carolinos.
Palmela Castle
Castelo de Palmela is a castle initially built by the Moors between the 10th and 12th centuries, underwent structural modifications until the 17th century. Its Romanesque, Mannerist and Gothic architectural features reflect a history of conquests and reconquest. In visual terms, the castle has an irregular layout, integrating warlike and religious elements, with emphasis on the Church of Santiago, with valuable tiles and the Manueline vault, and
- the Convento de Santa Maria da Arrábida, currently transformed into pousada, of which we highlight the central cloister. The main points of the Castle of Palmela include the two quadrangular towers and the Keep. We can visit several spaces of
- the Municipal Museum in the castle, including
- the Space for Military Transmissions and
- the Archaeological Space. Located in one of the highest points of the Serra da Arrábida, between the Tagus River Estuary and the Sado Estuary.
From this castle we can have breathtaking views that, in the clearest days, extend to the city of Lisbon.
Sobreiro Whistler of Águas de Moura
The Sobreiro Whistler of Águas de Moura is a centenary cork oak tree classified as a Tree of Public Interest that we find in the locality Águas de Moura, in the village of Palmela, district of Setúbal. In addition to its more than 2 centuries of existence, this cork oak gained prominence in the Guinness Book of Records as “the largest cork oak in the world” and won the European Tree of the Year contest in 2018. This cork oak stands out for its natural beauty and the fact that several birds are heard chirping, this being the characteristic that named it as “whistler”. Tradition and regional legends recognize this tree as a “matchmaking cork oak”, highlighting that, in addition to marking a place where gypsy weddings were held, several courtships and weddings were arranged under its crown.
