Monsaraz
Perched high above the plains, with views reaching as far as Spain, this stone-built tavern is a rustic, wonderfully family-friendly spot. Good honest Alentejano home cooking stars on the menu, with dishes like meltingly tender black pork and migas com bacalhau e coentros (codfish with bread and coriander).
Don’t pass up dessert – the rich sericaia (an egg-custard tart) with sugared plums is quite good.
29.93 MILES
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…
29.93 MILES
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…
23.34 MILES
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…
29.87 MILES
Guarded by a pair of rose granite towers, Évora’s fortress-like medieval cathedral has fabulous cloisters and a museum jam-packed with ecclesiastical…
0.65 MILES
Offers two-hour open-air sessions taking in the marvellous star-filled skies of the Alentejo. You'll get an overview of constellations visible with the…
29.9 MILES
The former Convento dos Lóios, to the right of Igreja de São João, has elegant Gothic cloisters topped by a Renaissance gallery. A national monument, the…
29.68 MILES
At the top of the upper town is the stark, glowing-white, fortress-like former royal palace, now the Pousada de Rainha Santa Isabel. Dom Dinis built the…
29.94 MILES
The small, fabulous Igreja de São João, which faces the Templo Romano, was founded in 1485 by one Rodrigo Afonso de Melo, count of Olivença and the first…
0.16 MILES
Housed inside a fine Gothic building beside the parish church, this museum includes a rare example of a 14th-century secular fresco. The striking work…
2. Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Lagoa
0.18 MILES
The parish church, near the turismo, was rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake and again a century later. Inside is an impressive nave and a 14th-century…
0.18 MILES
Opposite the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Lagoa, this 16th-century church was once part of the Hospital do Espírito Santo complex.
0.23 MILES
Near the castle, this small two-storey museum touches on the Jewish presence in Monsaraz during the Middle Ages and the persecutions that unfolded after…
0.24 MILES
The weather-beaten castle at the southwestern end of the village was one in the chain of Dom Dinis’ defensive fortresses along the Spanish border. It’s…
6. Observatório do Lago Alqueva
0.65 MILES
Offers two-hour open-air sessions taking in the marvellous star-filled skies of the Alentejo. You'll get an overview of constellations visible with the…
1.73 MILES
When you need a break from the heat, head down to this beach on the edge of Alqueva Lake. You can go for a swim (there are lifeguards in summer), hire…
1.9 MILES
Situated 6km north of Monsaraz is the granite, 5.6m-tall Menhir do Outeiro, one of the tallest megalithic monuments ever discovered.