74 Best Sights in Évora and the Alentejo, Portugal

This castle's battlements offer a sweeping view of Elvas and its fortifications. There's been a fortress here since Roman times, though this structure's oldest elements were built by the Moors and expanded by a handful of Portuguese monarchs. Touching the border with Spain, it was always on the front line of battles between the two countries. In 1807 it was taken by Napoléon's troops, but the English and the Portuguese quickly fought them off. Despite all the battles it faced, the castle remains in remarkably good condition, thanks to its solid stone walls. There's a small bar inside serving light meals and drinks that's open until late. It gets especially busy in the summer when they set up tables outside.

You can climb the tower of Marvão's castle and trace the course of the massive Vauban-style stone walls (characterized by concentric lines of trenches and walls, a hallmark of the 17th-century French military engineer Vauban), adorned at intervals with bartizans, to enjoy breathtaking vistas from different angles. Given its strategic position, it's no surprise that Marvão has been a fortified settlement since Roman times or earlier. The present castle was built under Dom Dinis in the late 13th century and modified some four centuries later, during the reign of Dom João IV.

Built in 1292, this castle contains carved stone from the Roman, Moorish, and Christian periods. The courtyard has a very deep cistern in the center. From the castle's Torre de Menagem, you can look down on archaeological digs along the sides of the fortress, and out over the river and rolling hills toward Spain.

The castle and its imposing towers are one of the first things you see when you approach Monsaraz. Dating back to the 14th century, it's among the many fortifications built to protect the border between Portugal and Spain. During the Portuguese Restoration War, the castle was used by the military, but it was abandoned soon after that. It was only around 1830 that locals decided to turn it into a bullfighting ring, a tradition that continues in September during the Festas de Nosso Senhor Jesus dos Passos. For the rest of the year, you can roam around the castle and enjoy the views of the Alqueva Dam.

At the base of Portalegre's sloping cobblestone streets stands the town's castle, which dates to the early 14th century. Sadly, the castle's walls were disassembled in the 1930s to open streets around it to traffic. Now a wooden structure, somewhat controversial in its design, links the castle's body with an adjacent tower, where you can climb up for splendid views of the cathedral and city.

What started as a small distillery in Santiago do Cacém has become a giant theme park for the whole family. Owner, Miguel Nunes, considers himself an alchemist, collecting botanicals from the Alentejo coast and transforming it into an award-winning gin. Book ahead to visit the production area or head straight to the on-site bar for a cocktail. The space also offers safari trips on giant gin bottles, an animal farm, a playground, and several walking trails. Weekends bring additional activities such as yoga and acrobatic shows. The distillery is located a 40-minute drive south of Alcácer do Sal.

A curious structure built in the late 15th century, this was the first important building in the Alentejo to join Gothic and Moorish elements and form the Gothic-Mudéjar style. The fortified church, a few hundred feet south of the city walls, is characterized by massive battlement-topped walls and a series of round towers crowned with steep spires.

This impressive military fortress on a hill about 1½ km (1 mile) outside Elvas's city walls houses an interesting military museum with an array of artillery and weapons. The fort's rectangular ramparts were first built in the 1640s during Portugal's centuries-long animosity with Spain, and the local governor's residence was at its center.

Extremely simple on the outside, the interior of this 16th-century church is lined with large azulejo panels in massive gilt frames depicting scenes from the life of Christ. The unsigned 18th-century tiles are thought to be the work of António de Oliveira de Bernardes.

The 16th-century Church of Our Lady of the Assumption at the head of the town square, the Praça da República, has an impressive triple-nave interior lined with 17th-century blue-and-yellow azulejos. The church was designed by Francisco de Arruda, architect of the Elvas aqueduct, but underwent subsequent modifications. It was a cathedral until the diocese was moved to Évora in the 18th century.

A splendid example of classic Italian-style architecture, this church represents the first breath of the Renaissance in provincial Portuguese architecture. Note the massive figures on columns on either side of the portal. According to local legend, these four figures represent the first victims put to death in the Inquisition in Évora in 1543. The interior is lovely, but not quite as distinctive.

Note the striking white Renaissance facade of this church, which stands near the fountain at the north end of Praça do Giraldo. A medieval hermitage of the Knights Templar was razed in 1553 to make way for this church, which has massive round pillars and soaring vaulted ceilings. The marble altar in bas-relief is a holdover from the primitive hermitage. Packed with locals on Sundays, this is a good place to see a mass—or a glimpse of a local wedding on a Saturday in spring, if you're lucky.

Rising from the slopes above the river are the 12 white towers of Mértola's 12th-century house of worship, built on the ruins of a Roman structure. It was once a mosque and retains many of its original Islamic features, including a mihrab (a prayer niche that indicates the direction of Mecca).

This church has a splendid Manueline doorway, 17th-century altar pieces, and an 18th-century organ crafted in Italy. Near the front of the church rests a beautiful 15th-century Pietà sculpture carved from local marble. On the 8th of March, the building is the hub of a citywide festival celebrating Montemor's patron saint, the 16th-century figure São João de Deus (St. John of God). A procession departs from here to the Igreja do Hospital de São João de Deus. The nave there is covered with blue-and-white azulejo tiles depicting scenes from the saint's life.

Off Rua 24 de Julho, the sprawling Jardim Público is a pleasant place to rest after the rigors of sightseeing. The extensive and verdant gardens are landscaped with plants and trees from all over the world. Here you'll find the lovely Palácio de Dom Manuel, known for its row of gracefully curved Manueline windows.

One of Évora's most beautiful squares is characterized by paired stone towers that guard one of the principal entrances to the walled old city. The spires of the Sé rise above the towers, and in the center of the square is an unusual Renaissance fountain. The large white-marble sphere, supported by a single column, bears a commemorative inscription in Latin dated 1556. Overlooking the fountain is the Cordovil Mansion, on whose terrace are several particularly attractive arches decorated in the Manueline-Mudéjar style.

In the tiny village of Guadalupe stands the Menhir of Almendres, an 8-foot-tall Neolithic stone obelisk believed to have been used in fertility rites. Several hundred yards away is the cromlech, 95 granite monoliths arranged in an oval in the middle of a large field on a hill. The monoliths face the sunrise and are believed to have been the social, religious, and political center of the agro-pastoral, seminomadic population. The site is also believed to be linked to astral observations and predictions, fertility rites, and the worship of the mother goddess.

The area around Monsaraz is dotted with megalithic monuments. This 18-foot-high menhir (standing stone), is one of the tallest ever discovered.

This little gem of a museum located inside the castle walls has light-filled rooms displaying artifacts from Serpa dating from the Paleolithic to the Islamic period. The first floor covers the Prehistoric Period to the Iron Age, and the top floor houses artifacts from the Roman era, Late Antiquity, and the Moorish era. Artifacts include pottery, parts of marble and stone columns, coins, and jewelry. New features include kiosks featuring films by a local filmmaker.

This local museum showcases the largest private collection of tiles in Portugal. The permanent exhibit is a collaboration between Estremoz's city council and the renowned art collector Berardo. Housed inside the Tocha Palace, it covers 800 years of tilemaking practices, ranging from the 13th to the 21st century. The ground floor covers the origins of the craft, while the upper floors feature historic baroque panels and innovative designs by artists such as the late Paula Rego.

Focusing on 20th-century artists, this museum is definitely worth a visit if you're curious about modern aesthetics in otherwise traditional Alentejo. The well-organized exhibits feature about 300 works that rotate throughout the year. The baroque-style building itself is also exquisite—it was once a hospital run by a religious order. Upstairs there's a chapel lined with azulejos, and a café with nice views of Elvas.

This handsome museum is in a stately late-17th-century baroque building between the Sé and the Largo do Conde de Vila Flor. Once a palace that accommodated bishops, it contains a rich collection of sculpture and paintings as well as interesting archaeological and architectural artifacts. The first-floor galleries, arranged around a pleasant garden, include several excellent carved pillars and a fine Manueline doorway.

This small museum, next to the parish church, displays religious artifacts, well-preserved frescoes, and the original town charter, signed by Dom Manuel in 1512. The former tribunal contains an interesting 15th-century fresco that depicts Christ presiding over figures of Truth and Deception.

This museum offers an interesting look at Alentejo's local marble industry, which has sustained Vila Viçosa and made it prosperous. It's on the site of a former quarry, near the road out of town toward Borba. There are free guided tours in Portuguese, Spanish, English, and French.

Housed in a 16th-century convent, this quirky little museum displays a collection of thousands of clocks, with a permanent exhibition titled "400 Years of Clock-Making in Portugal." There's also a workshop where you can watch experts repairing old clocks, or bring in your own to be tinkered with.

Housed in a 1930s movie theater, the municipal photography museum's permanent collection includes 19th-century cameras, black-and-white images from around Portugal, and an exhibit on the history of global photography.