If you have a sweet tooth you can not miss the International Chocolate Festival in Óbidos, Portugal. This medieval-looking town, filled with white, blue and yellow rustic houses has many charms that attract thousands of tourists every year, not least of which is chocolate.
The Festival’s activities
Every spring, inside the walls of Óbidos, from the 25th of April to the 5th of May, you can find an incredible chocolate festival, filled with exhibitions of chocolate sculptures and constructions, show cooking sessions, workshops and chef demonstrations.
If you want to take your little ones with you, don’t worry. There is a special place dedicated to children, the “Casa de Chocolate das Crianças” (“Children’s Chocolate House”) where they can make their own chocolate candy.
This year, the festival celebrates its 7th edition, between the 25th of April and the 5th of May 2019, and the theme is sports. Following that theme, chocolatiers from all over the world come to Óbidos to present the best live chocolate statues and to compete for the awards of “Chocolate of the Year” and “Young Chocolatier”.
Also, during the event, you can hear from national athletes who will talk about the importance of living a healthy balanced lifestyle, where you can (and should) eat good quality chocolate. And any excuse to eat more chocolate is a good excuse in our book!
You can spend the day seeing the chocolate creations, learning new recipes and chef’s tricks and tasting some of the best chocolate in the world. Finally, the festival ends with a unique Chocoparty: a DJ starts the celebration with music that accompanies the wine and chocolate tastings.
Schedule and ticket prices
The festival is open every day between the 25th of April and the 5th of May, but has different schedules depending on the day:
- Sunday through Thursday: from 11 am to 7 pm
- Fridays, Saturdays and Holidays: from 11 am to 8 pm
Ticket prices also vary:
For adults (older than 12) tickets cost 5 euro from Monday to Friday, and 6 euro on the weekends and on holidays.
For children, the price depends on the number of activities included and can go from 4 euro for one activity, 5 euro for two activities and 6 euro for four.
You can get your tickets at the festival entrance or online.
How to get to Óbidos
By car:
- The distance from Lisbon to Óbidos is about 80 km. When leaving Lisbon, take the A8 Motorway directly to Óbidos. It will take around 40/50 minutes.
- From Santarém, take the A15 Motorway directly to Óbidos.
- From Porto take the A1 Motorway directly to Leiria, then the A8 Motorway directly to Óbidos.
Coming from the A8 Motorway, exits 15 and 17 will lead you to the parking lot of the event.
By train:
If you would like to come by train, there are a few stops in Óbidos. Nevertheless, if you are carrying a lot of luggage, we recommend that you take another means of transport since the train station is quite far from the town’s main entrance. A ticket will cost around 9 euro. For more information, please consult the website www.cp.pt.
By bus:
From Lisbon, the average price for a bus ticket is around 8 euro. For more information on schedules and prices visit the website www.rodotejo.pt.
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