Alentejo Was Made for Slow Travel
When it comes to exploring these medieval villages, azulejo art museums, and chilled-out beach towns, don’t rush it.
The Alentejo region might comprise a third of Portugal – stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Spanish border – but it feels entirely like its own country. It’s the nation’s most rural and least-populated province, with a distinct dialect and a collection of oceanfront and inland towns separated by cork forests, olive groves, vineyards, and wildflower-studded plains.
The Giraldo Square (Praca do Giraldo) is the heart of Evora, Portugal. It is a good place to sit at night and enjoy a dinner and a good wine.
Because the Alentejo is one of Portugal’s least-visited regions, traffic is minimal and the pace unhurried, making it ideal for slow-travel exploration. Even on weekends, inland towns such as Elvas remain easygoing, with restaurants and markets mainly visited by locals from neighboring towns.
The Alentejo’s coastal villages receive well-deserved attention come summertime – especially from surfers – but they still feel beautifully under the radar.
The best way to explore Alentejo is slowly, taking time to savor each medieval castle and fishing village – here’s what not to miss.
For the best views in Elvas, head up to one of the city’s two hilltop medieval forts, Santa Luzia and Nossa Senhora da Graça. The meticulously preserved fortress city near Portugal’s border with Spain played a crucial role during the Spanish-Portuguese War, and today, the entire town is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The five-mile-long, four-story-high Amoreira Aqueduct on Elvas’ outskirts is one of Portugal’s most famous monuments, and inside the city’s walls, historic buildings clustered along cobblestoned streets lead to Praça da República, the central square, and its handsome Gothic-Baroque cathedral.
About an hour’s drive southwest of Elvas, Évora’s past reflects a variety of cultural influences, including Roman, Celtic, Moorish, and Gothic. A UNESCO World Heritage site since the 1980s – and the capital of the Alentejo region – Évora teems with museums and well-preserved buildings, such as the first-century Roman Temple.
See “Portugal’s Stonehenge” at Almendres Cromlech, a rugged Neolithic site ringed with 95 nut-shaped stones, or visit the Capela dos Ossos (Chapel of Bones), a religious sanctuary built with more than 5,000 skeletons exhumed from overcrowded graveyards in the 1600s.
Move on to Évora, lovingly referred to as the 'museum town.' Echoes of a rich past resonate around every corner, from the Roman-era Temple of Diana to the Gothic grandeur of Évora Cathedral. Wander through the streets to encounter an array of medieval facades, pristine plazas, and charming cafes serving mouthwatering regional cuisine.
A visit to Évora would be incomplete without stopping by Capela dos Ossos ("Bones Chapel"). This architectural oddity, lined with thousands of human bones and skulls, offers a unique and slightly eerie experience, combining history and memento mori art in one encompassing structure
To experience these pleasures can be so perfect that justifies many trips to the Region. One is not enough. If you want to taste it fully you will have to do like we do it in Alentejo: eat and drink according to the season.