Templo Romano
Once part of the Roman Forum, the remains of this temple, dating from the 2nd or early 3rd century AD, are a heady slice of drama right in town. It's…
Matt Munro
The Alentejo
You'll be bewitched – Portugal’s largest region, covering a third of the country, truly captivates. Think dry, golden plains, rolling hillsides and lime-green vines. A rugged coastline, traditional whitewashed villages, marble towns and majestic medieval cities. Plus a proud if melancholic people, who valiantly cling to their local crafts.
Centuries-old farming traditions – and cork production – continue here. Alentejo’s rich past offers Palaeolithic carvings, fragments from Roman conquerors and solid Visigothic churches. There are Moorish-designed neighbourhoods and awe-inspiring fortresses built at stork-nest heights.
And the cuisine? Alentejo is the destination for traditional food. Gastronomic delights are plentiful – pork, game, bread, cheese, wine, and seafood along the coastline. Birdlife and rare plants are prolific, and walking opportunities abound.
The world is (finally) catching on to Alentejo. Get there before everyone else does.
Explore The Alentejo
- Templo Romano
Once part of the Roman Forum, the remains of this temple, dating from the 2nd or early 3rd century AD, are a heady slice of drama right in town. It's…
- Capela dos Ossos
One of Évora’s most popular sights is also one of its most chilling. The walls and columns of this mesmerising memento mori (reminder of death) are lined…
- MMuseu Regional de Beja
Beja's must-see attraction is set in a 15th-century Franciscan convent and the backdrop to an unlikely romance between a nun and soldier that inspired…
- CCais Palafítico da Carrasqueira
Built in the 1950s and 1960s, this ramshackle, zigzagging, interlocking pier on wooden stilts is one of Europe's last surviving of its kind. At sunset, it…
- Paço Ducal
The dukes of Bragança built their palace in the early 16th century when the fourth duke, Dom Jaime, grew tired of his uncomfortable hilltop castle. The…
- Cidade de Ammaia
This excellent little Roman museum lies between Castelo de Vide and Marvão in São Salvador de Aramenha. From São Salvador head 700m south along the…
- Cromeleque dos Almendres
Set within a beautiful landscape of olive and cork trees stands this huge, spectacular oval of standing stones, 15km west of Évora. It is the Iberian…
- Parque Natural do Vale do Guadiana
Created in 1995, this zone of hills, plains and deep valleys around Serpa and Mértola shelters the Rio Guadiana, one of Portugal’s largest and most…
- Castelo
The formidable castle, built into the rock at the western end of the village, dates from the end of the 13th century, but most of what you see today was…
Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout The Alentejo.
- See
Templo Romano
Once part of the Roman Forum, the remains of this temple, dating from the 2nd or early 3rd century AD, are a heady slice of drama right in town. It's…
- See
Capela dos Ossos
One of Évora’s most popular sights is also one of its most chilling. The walls and columns of this mesmerising memento mori (reminder of death) are lined…
- See
Museu Regional de Beja
Beja's must-see attraction is set in a 15th-century Franciscan convent and the backdrop to an unlikely romance between a nun and soldier that inspired…
- See
Cais Palafítico da Carrasqueira
Built in the 1950s and 1960s, this ramshackle, zigzagging, interlocking pier on wooden stilts is one of Europe's last surviving of its kind. At sunset, it…
- See
Paço Ducal
The dukes of Bragança built their palace in the early 16th century when the fourth duke, Dom Jaime, grew tired of his uncomfortable hilltop castle. The…
- See
Cidade de Ammaia
This excellent little Roman museum lies between Castelo de Vide and Marvão in São Salvador de Aramenha. From São Salvador head 700m south along the…
- See
Cromeleque dos Almendres
Set within a beautiful landscape of olive and cork trees stands this huge, spectacular oval of standing stones, 15km west of Évora. It is the Iberian…
- See
Parque Natural do Vale do Guadiana
Created in 1995, this zone of hills, plains and deep valleys around Serpa and Mértola shelters the Rio Guadiana, one of Portugal’s largest and most…
- See
Castelo
The formidable castle, built into the rock at the western end of the village, dates from the end of the 13th century, but most of what you see today was…
