Sitting beside the Tagus, surrounded by the riverside industries that dominate
this area, the town has a reputation larger than its modest appearance suggests.
Traditionally the area has been the centre for bull and horse rearing
communities. Twice a year crowds flock here to participate in the bull-running
through the streets and watch the tourada  and traditional
horsemanship. The animated and gaudy Festa do Colete Encarnado (named after the
red waistcoat worn by campinos , the Ribatejo herdsmen) takes
place over several days in early July. The festival is a lively occasion with
folk dancing, boat races on the Tagus and sardines grilled in the street. A
similar festival, the Feira de Outubro, takes place in October. The brightly
coloured traditional costumes of the campinos  and other
exhibits related to bullfighting in Portugal are on display in the small Museu Etnográfico .

The town centre retains an exuberantly tiled covered market 
dating from the 1920s. Further east, on Largo da Misericórdia, striking
18th-century azulejos  adorn the chancel of the Misericórdia  church. South of town, the Ponte Marechal
Carmona , built in 1951, is the only bridge across the River Tagus
between Santarém to the north and Lisbon to the south.