Must-see attractions in The Alentejo

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…

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…

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…

Built in the 1950s and 1960s, this ramshackle, zigzagging, interlocking pier on wooden stilts is one of Europe's last surviving of its kind. At sunset, it…

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…

This excellent little Roman museum lies between Castelo de Vide and Marvão in São Salvador de Aramenha. From São Salvador head 700m south along the…

Set within a beautiful landscape of olive and cork trees stands this huge, spectacular oval of standing stones, 15km west of Évora. It is the Iberian…

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…

The formidable castle, built into the rock at the western end of the village, dates from the end of the 13th century, but most of what you see today was…

The Great Dolmen of Zambujeiro, 13km southwest of Évora, is Europe’s largest dolmen. Under a huge sheet-metal protective shelter in a field of wildflowers…

Guarded by a pair of rose granite towers, Évora’s fortress-like medieval cathedral has fabulous cloisters and a museum jam-packed with ecclesiastical…

If there’s one thing you must visit in Portalegre, it’s this splendid museum. Opened in 2001, it contains brilliant contemporary creations from Portalegre…

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…

Around 27km west of Èvora, the Escoural Caves contain several cave paintings and rock carvings that date back more than 13,000 years. One-hour guided…

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…

Looming high over the arid countryside, about 3km north of town, this old military fort has a commanding presence. From the castelo, the fort is just…

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…

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…

Mértola’s striking parish church – square, flat-faced and topped with whimsical little conical decorations – is known because in a former incarnation it…

Jutting into the town from the northwest is the beguilingly named Aqueduto da Água de Prata, designed by Francisco de Arruda (better known for Lisbon’s…