A region of Portugal has sweet villages and dramatic landscapes, but few make it there.
Earlier this week I met with a representative for the Portuguese Tourist Board who was frank about the hopes for the next year.
“Lisbon and the Algarve. They don’t need more visitors. They get enough,” they explained to me.
Indeed, the capital received 8.5 million visitors last year, while the Algarve welcomed in 3.2 million. With the world’s best beach and cheap breakfast galore in the latter, and historic landmarks like Castelo de São Jorge and the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon, it is easy to see why.
It’s also easy to understand why the tourism board is hoping to spread out the incomers, so as not to overwhelm locals or public infrastructure. Especially when the country’s largest region by landmass has so much to offer, yet so few are doing just that.
Alentejo stretches across the south of the country, from the greater Lisbon region to its north down to the Algarve in the south. It has a long stretch of dramatic Atlantic coastline, as well as rolling hills, cork oak forests, olive groves, and vineyards inland. Dotted across this are a number of villages.
At the last official count, Alentejo welcomed just 370,000 annual visitors. Here are a few reasons why that number should be higher.
Monsaraz
Perched on a hilltop overlooking the Alqueva Lake – Europe’s largest artificial body of water – is Monsaraz.
It’s a village with whitewashed houses, cobbled lanes, and panoramic views of olive groves and vineyards. Arguably, it is one of the most beautiful villages in Portugal.
The castle walls offer sunset views that are absolutely magical, while local crafts such as pottery and textiles are in plentiful supply. “Suspended in time, the historic village, one of the oldest in Portugal, is a mandatory destination to add to your list of places to visit in Alentejo. Especially after, in 2017, it won the category “Monument Villages” in the competition Seven Wonders of Portugal competition,” writes Visit Monsaraz. https://www.visitevora.net/en/visit-monsaraz/
Marvão
The village is one of Portugal’s most dramatic, sitting as it does atop the Serra de São Mamede mountains and surrounded by medieval walls.
While Marvão is a small place that can feel a little claustrophobic if you spend too long there, it offers incredible 360° views over the Alentejo plains and over the border into Spain. Its 13th-century castle and stone houses feel frozen in time. It is a medieval building that sits at a height of 843 metres above sea level, on one of the highest points in the Serra de São Mamede.
Several trails lead from the village and wind through the chestnut forests and valleys below. One of the big annual draws is the Marvão Chestnut Festival, often called the Chestnut Fair. The festival features roasted chestnuts, local wine, traditional crafts, and other regional products, and is held in November.
Castelo de Vide
Roughly 15 miles away from Marvão is Castelo de Vide, known as the Sintra of Alentejo for its romantic charm and spring-fed fountains.
“The castle, surrounded by the town’s white houses, dominates the surrounding landscape and is undoubtedly the first of many surprises encountered by the visitor. When seen from this high point, the Alentejo landscape is finally revealed in all of its great splendour. Small villages lost in the midst of the open countryside disappear from sight. Close by, roughly 20 km from Castelo de Vide, the hilltop town of Marvão can be seen and, a little further beyond this, it is possible to see over the Spanish border and deep into the heart of Spain itself,” writes Visit Portugal.
The village is home to a Jewish Quarter that has one of Portugal’s oldest synagogues.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
