Places to Explore In Évora and the Alentejo

Alcacer do Sal

Salt production here has nearly disappeared, but it was because of this mineral that Alcácer do Sal became one of Portugal's first inhabited sites. Parts...

• 1 Restaurants
• 2 Hotels
• 4 Things To Do

Alvito

Alvito is a typical, sleepy Alentejo town on a low hill above the Odivelas River. Noted for its fortresslike 13th-century parish church, the town also...

• 2 Restaurants
• 1 Hotels
• 1 Things To Do

Arraiolos

Arraiolos, dominated by the ruins of a once-mighty walled fortress, is a typical hilltop village of whitewashed houses and narrow streets. What distinguishes it is...

• 1 Restaurants
• 1 Hotels
• 6 Things To Do

Beja

Midway between Spain and the sea is Beja, Baixo Alentejo's principal agricultural center that spreads itself across a small knoll. Much of the oldest part...

• 3 Restaurants
• 2 Hotels
• 3 Things To Do

Campo Maior

Surrounded by rows of gentle hills covered with the Alentejo's ubiquitous cork and olive trees, Campo Maior is a quiet, sparsely populated corner of the...

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Castelo de Vide

A quiet hilltop town, Castelo de Vide is a picturesque place with pots of geraniums and dazzling flower beds throughout town. It’s more lively than...

• 2 Restaurants
• 2 Hotels
• 3 Things To Do

Elvas

Extensively fortified because of its proximity to the Spanish town of Badajoz, Elvas was from its founding an important bastion in warding off attacks from...

• 2 Restaurants
• 2 Hotels
• 6 Things To Do

Estremoz

Estremoz, which lies on the ancient road that connected Lisbon with Mérida, Spain, has been a site of strategic importance since Roman times, and the...

• 4 Restaurants
• 3 Hotels
• 7 Things To Do

Évora

Dressed in traditional garb, shepherds and farmers with faces wizened by a lifetime in the baking sun stand around the fountain at Praça do Giraldo;...

• 6 Restaurants
• 5 Hotels
• 18 Things To Do

Évoramonte

Évoramonte is a medieval town that sits along the western flank of the Serra de Ossa at an altitude of 1,550 feet. Drive up to...

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Guadalupe

The tiny village of Guadalupe takes its name from a 17th-century chapel that is dedicated to Nossa Senhora de Gaudalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe). Henry...

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• 3 Things To Do

Marvão

The views of the mountains as you approach the medieval fortress town of Marvão are spectacular, and the town's castle, atop a sheer rock cliff...

• 2 Restaurants
• 3 Hotels
• 3 Things To Do

Mertola

The ancient walled-in town of Mértola is on a hill overlooking the Guadiana River. At its center is the Praça Luís de Camões, a charming...

• 1 Restaurants
• 2 Hotels
• 3 Things To Do

Monsaraz

The entire fortified hilltop town of Monsaraz is a living museum of narrow stone streets lined with ancient white houses. The medieval town's 150 or...

• 2 Restaurants
• 1 Hotels
• 5 Things To Do

Montemor-o-Novo

Driving east from the Portuguese capital, the first hilltop castle settlement you’ll hit is also one of the most impressive. Montemor-e-Novo, or simply Montemor for...

• 2 Restaurants
• 0 Hotels
• 3 Things To Do

Portalegre

Portalegre is the gateway to the Alentejo's most mountainous region as well as to the Parque Natural da Serra de São Mamede. The town is...

• 1 Restaurants
• 3 Hotels
• 7 Things To Do

Santiago do Cacem

Some of Europe's finest and least crowded beaches are on the rugged stretch of Portugal's west coast that extends from the southern extreme of the...

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São Cucufate

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Serpa

One of the most authentic towns on the Alentejan Plain, Serpa’s whitewashed medieval center is surrounded by rolling hills and vineyards, well off the tourist...

• 2 Restaurants
• 3 Hotels
• 4 Things To Do

Side Trips from Évora

A trip through the countryside surrounding Évora will take you to some of the earliest-inhabited sites in Portugal, the country’s carpet- and tapestry-making center, and...

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Viana do Alentejo

The attractive castle at Viana do Alentejo—with its rough stone walls, brick battlements, and round turrets—was constructed in 1313 to the very specific orders of...

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Vila Nova de Milfontes

This small resort town is at the broad mouth of the Mira River, which is lined on both sides by sandy beaches. Overlooking the sea...

• 2 Restaurants
• 3 Hotels
• 3 Things To Do

Vila Viçosa

A quiet town with a moated castle, Vila Viçosa is in the heart of the fertile Borba Plain. It has been closely linked with Portuguese...

• 1 Restaurants
• 1 Hotels
• 3 Things To Do