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Alentejo, with a colourful landscape, wide open roads and dazzling whitewashed
villages, the great expanse of the Alentejo is considered one of the
most picturesque parts of Portugal. For more detailed guides about Alentejo or Portugal, don't hesitate te contact us.
With a colourful landscape, wide open roads and dazzling whitewashed villages, the great expanse of the Alentejo is considered one of the most picturesque parts of Portugal. Occupying nearly a third of the mainland, the region begins an hour's drive north east of Lisbon and ends at the mountains of the Algarve, rubbing up against Spain all along the way.
The Alentejo is at its loveliest in spring, when wild flowers fill the ditches and cover the fallow land. Storks build their nests on roof tops and shepherds cradle new born lambs, providing visitors with a vivid impression of the real Portugal.
For hundreds of years the region was a battlefield, first against the Moors and then against Spanish invaders. On this trampled land, crops had no time to grow beneath the feet of all those marching armies. But today it is a very fertile province, producing more than two thirds of the world's total cork supply.
The inhabitants of nearby Estremoz have managed to preserve the quaint old upper part of their town, where a turret looms over the castle. The lower district is surrounded by fortifications, including the Gothic church of the São Francisco convent.
Other places of interest in the Alentejo include : Portalegre, is a town located close to the border of Spain that has strong religious background evident by the number of churches and monasteries dating from the 13th Century; Montemor-o-Novo is distinguished by the ancestral force of religious orders and rural nobility, expressed in beautiful 17th century manor houses, in several convents (some restored to provide new functions), in churches which display Manueline doorways, rich Baroque altars and unforgettable frescos and tiles. The memory of those times lives serenely with the present and integrates itself with it, as in the more modest houses which have a steadier history.
At the heart of the region, the walled city of Évora is a very good base from which to explore the many outlying towns. Standing proud as the Alentejo's largest city, it boasts a roman temple and an impressive Gothic cathedral. Elvas, close to the Spanish frontier, is the biggest stronghold in the country. Its main attractions include a Manueline cathedral and several exquisite azulejo glazed tiles in the church of the Freiras de São Domingos. Just outside the town stands the 7 kilometre long Amoreira aqueduct.
Monsaraz perched above the River Guardiana on the frontier with Spain, the tiny medieval walled town of Monsaraz is one of the most atmospheric places in the Alentejo. With its narrow cobbled lanes, low-rise old houses and an imposing castle, visitors are offered a feel of medieval Portugal in one of the oldest places in the country. Regained from the Moors in 1167, the town was handed over to the Knights Templar before Dom Dinis added the castle and fortified walls in the 14th century.
Mértola: the town’s main attraction is its castle, built by the Moors, with a guard tower from the 13th-century. The main church, with its sculpted façade, contains elements from the Manueline period, occupies the site of what once was an ancient mosque. Mértola has three important museum sites as a consequence of the intense archeological activity there. The Roman museum occupies the Town Hall building. The Islamic collection includes the country’s most important archive of ceramic objects (9th to 13th-centuries). Here too is one of the rarest early Christian basilicas in the entire Iberian peninsula (dating from the 5th-century).
Useful Informations
Language: Portuguese is latin in origin and the third most widely spoken European language in the world. It is the mother tongue of about 200 millions people. Portuguese is the official language in several countries: Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé e Príncipe in Africa, and Bresil in South America. In Portugal itself many people can speak english, french and other languages.
Religion: Portuguese culture is very influenced by religion. Catholicism predominates but others religions can be practiced.
Electricity: voltage:220/380 volts at a frequency of 50 Hertz. All sockets Follow European standards. To use American type-plugs, a 220 volt transformer should be used together with an adapter plug.
Money: Portugal is one of 12 European Union countries whose common official currency is the euro.
1 euro is divided into 100 cents. The coins come in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents, and 1 and 2 euros.
The notes are differentiated by their size and colour and come in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 euros.
One side of the coins has a common design (the European side), and the other side has a national symbol. All euro coins can be used in any euro-zone country, irrespective of which national symbols they display.
ATMs - Automatic Teller Machines (Multibanco): Portugal has a national network of cash machines (ATMs) identified by the symbol MB (Multibanco), from which you can withdraw cash 24 hours a day.
Currency Exchange: You can exchange money at banks, which are open from 8.30 a.m. to 3 p.m. five working days a week; at bureaux de change; and at automatic currency exchange machines (these are for currency sale transactions only).
Car rentals: There are car rental services at airports, international rail terminuses and in the main towns and cities.
Drivers with mobility difficulties, or anyone who prefers to, can rent automatic or adapted vehicles.
To rent a car you must: be at least between 21 and 25 years old, depending on the company’s rental policy, show identification (identity card for EU citizens or a valid passport for other nationalities), have had a driving license for more than one year.
Banks: Banks are open from 8.30 a.m. to 3 p.m. five working days a week. Portugal has a national network of cash machines (ATMs) identified by the symbol MB (Multibanco), from which you can withdraw cash 24 hours a day.
Pharmacies: Pharmacies are open on weekdays between 9am and 1pm and from 3pm to 7pm and on Saturdays between 9am and 1pm. They display an illuminated green cross outside when open at night. All of them have information posted on the door indicating the nearest pharmacies that are open at night.
Shopping: In general, shops are open from Monday to Friday, from 9 or 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Some close for lunch from 1 to 3 p.m. On Saturdays from January to November, shops generally close at 1 p.m. though in city centers some are open in the afternoon. Shops tend to stay open on Saturday afternoons and sometimes even on Sundays in December for Christmas shopping. There are plenty of shopping centers inside and outside the cities that are usually open from 10 a.m. to midnight every day of the week. They generally have stores with the main international brands. However, traditional shops with Portuguese products can be found particularly in the streets of the older neighborhoods of towns and cities.
Telephones: In public telephone booths, coins and special cards can be used. They are sold in Portugal Telecom shops, post offices and some kiosks and news-stands (with a sign indicating this). All telephone numbers in Portugal are composed of nine digits. To call from abroad to Portugal, it is necessary to dial the international access code 00 and the country code 351. To call abroad from Portugal, dial 00, the country code, the area code and then the number wanted. The dialling codes of the various countries are affixed in public telephone booths.
Internet: Internet access is available on payment in some cafés and in numerous post offices that have the Netpost service. In various hotels and public facilities, like conference centres and shopping centres, there are duly marked "wireless" areas where it is possible to access wireless Internet.
Driving: Vehicles drive on the right in Portugal. Unless otherwise indicated, vehicles coming from the right have priority in squares and at intersections. At junctions with roundabouts, vehicles already on the roundabout have right of way. Road signs comply with international rules. Compulsory papers: personal ID, driving licence, motor insurance certificate, vehicle registration or equivalent, vehicle logbook (livrete) or equivalent. On the spot fines are issued.
Speed limits for cars without trailers and motorcycles:
50 kph - in built-up areas
90 kph - on normal roads
100 kph - on roads restricted to motor vehicles
120 kph - on motorways
It is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol level of 0.5 grams per litre or more. All occupants must wear seat belts.
Disabled access: many hotels have accommodation that has been adapted for use by people with motor disabilities. However it's a good idea to contact them directly for details. Public transports usually have reserved seats for passengers with difficulties, but there is no access for people in wheelchairs. Lisbon metro is not fully accessible to people with motor disabilities. Blind passengers are allowed to travel with their guide dogs, provided that they wear a collar and muzzle. All Portuguese airports have wheelchairs and disabled toilets and transfer facilities. They also provide special assistance on request. There are many limitations on disabled mobility and we recommende that you obtain more detailed information from the services you plan to use.
With a colourful landscape, wide open roads and dazzling whitewashed villages, the great expanse of the Alentejo is considered one of the most picturesque parts of Portugal. Occupying nearly a third of the mainland, the region begins an hour's drive north east of Lisbon and ends at the mountains of the Algarve, rubbing up against Spain all along the way.
The Alentejo is at its loveliest in spring, when wild flowers fill the ditches and cover the fallow land. Storks build their nests on roof tops and shepherds cradle new born lambs, providing visitors with a vivid impression of the real Portugal.
For hundreds of years the region was a battlefield, first against the Moors and then against Spanish invaders. On this trampled land, crops had no time to grow beneath the feet of all those marching armies. But today it is a very fertile province, producing more than two thirds of the world's total cork supply.
The inhabitants of nearby Estremoz have managed to preserve the quaint old upper part of their town, where a turret looms over the castle. The lower district is surrounded by fortifications, including the Gothic church of the São Francisco convent.
Other places of interest in the Alentejo include : Portalegre, is a town located close to the border of Spain that has strong religious background evident by the number of churches and monasteries dating from the 13th Century; Montemor-o-Novo is distinguished by the ancestral force of religious orders and rural nobility, expressed in beautiful 17th century manor houses, in several convents (some restored to provide new functions), in churches which display Manueline doorways, rich Baroque altars and unforgettable frescos and tiles. The memory of those times lives serenely with the present and integrates itself with it, as in the more modest houses which have a steadier history.
At the heart of the region, the walled city of Évora is a very good base from which to explore the many outlying towns. Standing proud as the Alentejo's largest city, it boasts a roman temple and an impressive Gothic cathedral. Elvas, close to the Spanish frontier, is the biggest stronghold in the country. Its main attractions include a Manueline cathedral and several exquisite azulejo glazed tiles in the church of the Freiras de São Domingos. Just outside the town stands the 7 kilometre long Amoreira aqueduct.
Monsaraz perched above the River Guardiana on the frontier with Spain, the tiny medieval walled town of Monsaraz is one of the most atmospheric places in the Alentejo. With its narrow cobbled lanes, low-rise old houses and an imposing castle, visitors are offered a feel of medieval Portugal in one of the oldest places in the country. Regained from the Moors in 1167, the town was handed over to the Knights Templar before Dom Dinis added the castle and fortified walls in the 14th century.
Mértola: the town’s main attraction is its castle, built by the Moors, with a guard tower from the 13th-century. The main church, with its sculpted façade, contains elements from the Manueline period, occupies the site of what once was an ancient mosque. Mértola has three important museum sites as a consequence of the intense archeological activity there. The Roman museum occupies the Town Hall building. The Islamic collection includes the country’s most important archive of ceramic objects (9th to 13th-centuries). Here too is one of the rarest early Christian basilicas in the entire Iberian peninsula (dating from the 5th-century).
Useful Informations
Language: Portuguese is latin in origin and the third most widely spoken European language in the world. It is the mother tongue of about 200 millions people. Portuguese is the official language in several countries: Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé e Príncipe in Africa, and Bresil in South America. In Portugal itself many people can speak english, french and other languages.
Religion: Portuguese culture is very influenced by religion. Catholicism predominates but others religions can be practiced.
Electricity: voltage:220/380 volts at a frequency of 50 Hertz. All sockets Follow European standards. To use American type-plugs, a 220 volt transformer should be used together with an adapter plug.
Money: Portugal is one of 12 European Union countries whose common official currency is the euro.
1 euro is divided into 100 cents. The coins come in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents, and 1 and 2 euros.
The notes are differentiated by their size and colour and come in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 euros.
One side of the coins has a common design (the European side), and the other side has a national symbol. All euro coins can be used in any euro-zone country, irrespective of which national symbols they display.
ATMs - Automatic Teller Machines (Multibanco): Portugal has a national network of cash machines (ATMs) identified by the symbol MB (Multibanco), from which you can withdraw cash 24 hours a day.
Currency Exchange: You can exchange money at banks, which are open from 8.30 a.m. to 3 p.m. five working days a week; at bureaux de change; and at automatic currency exchange machines (these are for currency sale transactions only).
Car rentals: There are car rental services at airports, international rail terminuses and in the main towns and cities.
Drivers with mobility difficulties, or anyone who prefers to, can rent automatic or adapted vehicles.
To rent a car you must: be at least between 21 and 25 years old, depending on the company’s rental policy, show identification (identity card for EU citizens or a valid passport for other nationalities), have had a driving license for more than one year.
Banks: Banks are open from 8.30 a.m. to 3 p.m. five working days a week. Portugal has a national network of cash machines (ATMs) identified by the symbol MB (Multibanco), from which you can withdraw cash 24 hours a day.
Pharmacies: Pharmacies are open on weekdays between 9am and 1pm and from 3pm to 7pm and on Saturdays between 9am and 1pm. They display an illuminated green cross outside when open at night. All of them have information posted on the door indicating the nearest pharmacies that are open at night.
Shopping: In general, shops are open from Monday to Friday, from 9 or 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Some close for lunch from 1 to 3 p.m. On Saturdays from January to November, shops generally close at 1 p.m. though in city centers some are open in the afternoon. Shops tend to stay open on Saturday afternoons and sometimes even on Sundays in December for Christmas shopping. There are plenty of shopping centers inside and outside the cities that are usually open from 10 a.m. to midnight every day of the week. They generally have stores with the main international brands. However, traditional shops with Portuguese products can be found particularly in the streets of the older neighborhoods of towns and cities.
Telephones: In public telephone booths, coins and special cards can be used. They are sold in Portugal Telecom shops, post offices and some kiosks and news-stands (with a sign indicating this). All telephone numbers in Portugal are composed of nine digits. To call from abroad to Portugal, it is necessary to dial the international access code 00 and the country code 351. To call abroad from Portugal, dial 00, the country code, the area code and then the number wanted. The dialling codes of the various countries are affixed in public telephone booths.
Internet: Internet access is available on payment in some cafés and in numerous post offices that have the Netpost service. In various hotels and public facilities, like conference centres and shopping centres, there are duly marked "wireless" areas where it is possible to access wireless Internet.
Driving: Vehicles drive on the right in Portugal. Unless otherwise indicated, vehicles coming from the right have priority in squares and at intersections. At junctions with roundabouts, vehicles already on the roundabout have right of way. Road signs comply with international rules. Compulsory papers: personal ID, driving licence, motor insurance certificate, vehicle registration or equivalent, vehicle logbook (livrete) or equivalent. On the spot fines are issued.
Speed limits for cars without trailers and motorcycles:
50 kph - in built-up areas
90 kph - on normal roads
100 kph - on roads restricted to motor vehicles
120 kph - on motorways
It is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol level of 0.5 grams per litre or more. All occupants must wear seat belts.
Disabled access: many hotels have accommodation that has been adapted for use by people with motor disabilities. However it's a good idea to contact them directly for details. Public transports usually have reserved seats for passengers with difficulties, but there is no access for people in wheelchairs. Lisbon metro is not fully accessible to people with motor disabilities. Blind passengers are allowed to travel with their guide dogs, provided that they wear a collar and muzzle. All Portuguese airports have wheelchairs and disabled toilets and transfer facilities. They also provide special assistance on request. There are many limitations on disabled mobility and we recommende that you obtain more detailed information from the services you plan to use.
Guide created: 06/21/06 (updated 06/02/07)
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