Property for Sale in Tomar — A Town Unlike Any Other
Of all the towns and cities in central Portugal, Tomar may be the one that most consistently enchants foreign visitors who come looking for property. It is not the largest or the most strategically located — the city of some 20,000 people sits in the Nabão river valley in the northeastern corner of Santarém district, not quite on any motorway — but it has a character and a physical beauty that make it one of the most liveable small towns in Portugal.
The reason is the Convento de Cristo, a UNESCO World Heritage site that has dominated the hill above Tomar since the Knights Templar founded it in 1162. The convent evolved over seven centuries — Templar, Manueline, Baroque — and the result is one of Europe’s most extraordinary ecclesiastical monuments. From almost anywhere in Tomar you can look up to the convent on the hill. The town below has organised itself aesthetically around this extraordinary backdrop for 800 years.
The Town
Tomar’s centre is a grid of clean, whitewashed streets lined with orange trees. The Praça da República, with its gothic church of São João Baptista, forms the heart. There are good cafes, independent restaurants, a weekly market, a municipal museum, a synagogue (one of the best-preserved in Portugal, 15th century) and enough of the routines of a working Portuguese town that it functions as a real place rather than a theme park.
The Nabão river runs through the town, with a public park and swimming on its banks. The Mata Nacional dos Sete Montes — a forest of seven hills that surrounds the convent — is open to walkers year-round.
Property in Tomar
Property in Tomar proper covers a range from older apartments in the town centre to modern houses in the residential suburbs.
Town centre apartments — T1 and T2 in the older building stock of the Baixa — start at around €80,000 and rise to €150,000 for well-maintained units with balconies and views of the Convento. Older T3 houses in the historic quarter, sometimes needing work, might be €100,000 to €165,000.
The suburbs — Pedreira, Santa Maria dos Olivais, Casais — have more modern construction at €130,000 to €220,000 for T3 houses with gardens. Newer construction in the surrounding parishes, with more space, might be €140,000 to €180,000.
Rural properties in the Tomar municipality range from small habitable farmhouses at €80,000 to €120,000 to more substantial quintas with land at €180,000 to €320,000.
The Zêzere River and Castelo de Bode
Tomar’s great natural asset, beyond the Convento, is its proximity to the Castelo de Bode reservoir on the Zêzere river — a 10-minute drive east of the town. This inland lake, formed by a dam completed in 1951, is 56 kilometres long and one of the most beautiful bodies of water in Portugal. Swimming beaches, sailing, kayaking, fishing — in summer it becomes an enormously popular leisure destination for Lisboetas as well as locals.
Properties with access to the Castelo de Bode — particularly those on the water’s edge or with private moorings — are among the most sought-after in central Portugal. A lakeside house with its own jetty and reasonable road access might be €160,000 to €260,000. Properties without direct water access but within walking distance might be €110,000 to €170,000.
Ferreira do Zêzere
The municipality of Ferreira do Zêzere, north of Tomar along the Zêzere valley, is one of our consistently productive areas for property finding. This is a municipality of villages, orchards and the lake — quieter than Tomar itself, less known internationally, with property prices to match.
Village houses in Ferreira do Zêzere municipality might be €60,000 to €100,000 for habitable T2/T3 stock; renovated houses with gardens €110,000 to €160,000; rural properties with land €130,000 to €220,000.
Why Tomar Works for UK Buyers
Several factors make Tomar particularly attractive to British buyers:
- Scale: Tomar is big enough to have proper infrastructure (hospital, secondary schools, supermarkets, good restaurants) but small enough that you are known in your local café within a month.
- Community: There is a long-established expat community in and around Tomar — British, Dutch, German, French — with organised social events and mutual support networks.
- Access: Tomar has a train station on the Lisbon-Coimbra-Porto main line (actually a branch line via Entroncamento, a short change). Lisbon airport is about 1 hour 40 minutes by road.
- Character: No other similarly sized town in central Portugal has the UNESCO heritage, the physical setting, or the quality of the central streets.
Price Guide: Tomar Area
| Property Type | Location | Price Range |
|---|---|---|
| Town centre T2 apartment | Tomar Baixa | €80,000 – €145,000 |
| T3 suburban house | Tomar suburbs | €130,000 – €220,000 |
| Village house, habitable | Tomar municipality | €75,000 – €120,000 |
| House near Castelo de Bode | Zêzere lakeside | €110,000 – €200,000 |
| Lakeside house with mooring | Castelo de Bode | €160,000 – €280,000 |
| Quinta with land | Tomar / Ferreira do Zêzere | €160,000 – €320,000 |
Tomar Open Days: We periodically organise property open days in the Tomar area — informal events where we show a selection of properties and then meet buyers for lunch or dinner. If you'd like to be on the mailing list for the next Tomar open day, mention it in your enquiry.