Plan a trip to Caldas Da Rainha

Caldas da Rainha is located in the province of Estremadura between the Tagus River and the Atlantic Ocean. The town dates back to the 15th century when Queen Dona Leonor, wife of King Dom Joao ll, was cured of a longstanding illness by the area’s hot springs. With the great demand for the hot springs by local people, the Queen had a hospital built there- the Thermal Hospital of Nossa Senhora do Populo. The town which grew around the hospital was appropriately called “Caldas da Rainha” – “The Queen’s Hot Springs.” 

Caldas da Rainha continued to grow, especially in the late 19th and early 20th century when nobility and the privileged classes chose to vacation here in the spa resort.  

Caldas was also a center of Portuguese culture. The painter, Jose Malhoa, was born here as was Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, the 19th century caricaturist who established the town’s pottery factory and school. Caldas is still famous for its ceramics, and it is now a UNESCO Creative City- home to nine museums, multiple cultural institutions, fair centers, six higher education institutions, and a design school devoted mainly to ceramics.

The town boasts a wonderful farmers market, the Mercado de Rua Caldense, which takes place in the its center square, the Praca da Republica.