Baixo Alentejo
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…
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Baixo Alentejo
The southern half of the Alentejo is packed with history. The scenic hilltop town of Mértola has an old centre that’s something of a living museum, with its archaeological sites dating back to the Islamic period. Beja has Roman and Visigoth ruins, including recently excavated sites that will be showcased in a new museum; Moura has its share of artefacts and a small Moorish street pattern. For something a little different, don’t miss the abandoned mining buildings of São Domingos.
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Must-see attractions
Parque Natural do Vale do Guadiana
Mértola
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…
Mértola
Mértola’s striking parish church – square, flat-faced and topped with whimsical little conical decorations – is known because in a former incarnation it…
Mértola
Above the parish church looms Mértola’s fortified castle, most of which dates from the 13th century. It was built upon Moorish foundations next to an…
Mértola
This site contains the ruins of what was once a thriving Islamic neighbourhood. Some 20 dwellings were here, each with a classic Mediterranean layout – a…
Baixo Alentejo
The lovely, shady Jardim Dr Santiago, at the eastern end of Praça Sacadura Cabral, is a delightful place. There are good views, a bandstand and shady,…
Baixo Alentejo
The castle offers fabulous views across the countryside. One of the towers is the last remnant of a Moorish fortress. Rebuilt by Dom Dinis in the 13th…
Mértola
Next to the alcáçova (citadel), this interpretation centre is an accurately sized replica of an Islamic residence dating from the 12th century. Key…
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