Things to do in Fatima, nowadays one of the most important pilgrimage centers of the Catholic religion in Portugal and in the world. At present, the city sometimes seems a bit deserted, except on the 12th and 13th of each month between May and October, which is when these so-called pilgrimages take place, filling the city and its surroundings.
The city has everything that is necessary for the pilgrims, which results in a space like few in the world, and that when you visit you will be able to enrich you with the religious culture of the country.
These pilgrimages have much to do with the apparitions that occurred several times, as was recognized by the church, by three children. On May 13, 1917, three children, Lúcia dos Santos (10 years old), Francisco Marto (9 years old) and Jacinta Marto (7 years old) said they saw “… a lady more brilliant than the Sun” on a holm oak about a meter or more in height, when they grazed a small herd in the Cova da Iria, near the village of Aljustrel.
Lúcia saw, listened and spoke with the apparition, Jacinta saw and heard and Francisco only saw it, but he did not hear it. If you want to know more about the apparitions, it is recommended to visit the Apparition Museum of Fátima 1917.
Regardless of the religious value they have, it is hard not to be impressed by the great floods that lead every year more than 6 million people to gather in the clearing where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared, and today is the home of the Sanctuary of Fátima, with two enormous temples that are arranged in a space of 1 kilometer of width, one of which is the Basilica of the Rosary, erected in 1953 and finished with a crown and a golden cross, with the Chapel of the Apparitions; while the other is the Church of the Holy Trinity, inaugurated in 2007. If you want to know more about this incredible basilica.
The city also hosts other interesting places, such as the Wax Museum of Fatima, the Museum of Art and Ethnology, or the Animated Nativity Museum, in the village of Belém.
Very close to Fátima is the village of Aljustrel, where you can see the houses where the three children who saw the apparitions lived: Francisco, Jacinta and Lucia, the latter with the secret where the angel appeared in 1917.
