Guide to Peniche

Finding things to do in Peniche, a beautiful little town, with most of its ramparts still intact, is not difficult. Trips to the island of Berlenga leave from Peniche. The other great thing to do in Peniche is surfing as the town is also a major centre for the sport and, more and more, kite-surfing.

Peniche is only about a couple of hours north of Lisbon, straight north, and is easy to reach by bus (€7) or train to Óbidos and then a local bus, or of course by car.

The streets of the village inside the walls are narrow and bustling, especially on the last Thursday of each month when there is a market and at other times you are likely to get approached constantly by people trying to hustle you into this or that fish restaurant. It does become a bit tiresome at times and I must admit that if I stop to look at a menu outside a restaurant and someone appears through the door telling me how wonderful the place is and this and that are the specials of the day I leave immediately.

Having said that the fish restaurants are good. Peniche is, after all, the second most important fishing harbour in Portugal and you will often see fishermen repairing their nets on the beach. Unlike Nazaré these are real fishermen and real nets. There's a big fishermen's parade/festival/fireworks display and dancing/singing/drinking on the first weekend of August.

The fortress overlooking the harbour was, during Salazar's time, the sad home of most of the country's political prisoners – but not a bad place to be holed up I imagine, at least they had a view. You can visit (€1.50, check the times carefully as they change every few weeks) and although not exactly Alcatraz it does make you think. Much has been kept as it was including the solitary confinement cells, the meeting booths where prisoners could receive visitors and some very sad little notes written by prisoners to their children.

The harbour is a working harbour so lacks the charm and calm of some other places but the beaches all along this stretch of coast are fantastic, for sunbathing, swimming (be aware of the significance of different flags used on Portuguese beaches) and above all surfing – this is the centre of the world for that. There are several surfing camps close by.

Accommodation in Peniche
For accommodation the town has little apart from a few private rooms, and again the touts tour the town offering quartos – B&B in Portuguese. The local tourist office might be a safer bet and you'll pay about €30 per room. The couple of hotels are outside the town on a busy roundabout. Location, location, location! There is a campsite on the cliffs about a mile outside the town but unless you have your own transport is difficult to reach. They rent cabins for about €50 a night.

Peniche's other claim to fame is its lace and they do make the most exquisite hand-made lace here. There is a lace-making school which is open to visitors (9.30am-12.30pm, 2-5.30pm Mon-Fri).

To the north and south of Peniche there are a few little seaside villages, all of which are interesting though nothing more than seaside villages. But it's the beach you come for.