For long unknown to all but an intrepid few travellers, the Alentejo region of Portugal is getting a lot of media attention in the last couple of years. So it might surprise you that you’re likely to find very few other tourists on a visit to the region, even in the main towns. Whether you’re sniffing out the vineyards, exploring the white-washed villages or wandering along the spectacular coastline you’re likely to have the Alentejo pretty much to yourself.

I travelled here with my wife in September as part of my ongoing work with Sunvil, who hosted my trip. I’ll be writing about our experiences in Portugal on the Sunvil blog – you can take a look there over the next few months to read various Alentejo stories. The first post is about Aldeia da Luz – a remarkable story of a village that moved.

But for now, here are a few photos from our visit that show off the best of the Alentejo region:

Bougainvillea on a white washed wall at Herdade do Touril

Cork tree at sunset, Alqueva lake

Cork trees dot the flat plains of the Alentejo

Stork nests can be found on any suitable perch (and some wholly unsuitable ones too)

Traffic on the road ahead near Aldeia da Luz

Our houseboat – home and transport for two days on the Alqueva reservoir

The new village of Luz – finished in 2002 to house the residents of the old village, now under the Alqueva reservoir

The quaint streets of Monsaraz in the midday heat

Working windmill in the town of Castro Verde

Mansion houses in Castro Verde

Secluded (if almost inaccessible) beach near Zambujeira do Mar on the Alentejo coast

Postcards from the Alentejo is a post from: 501 Places

There’s something magical about an approaching storm. Of course, you may not feel this way if you’re stuck out in the open without shelter and about to get soaked. Wandering as we were through the lovely historic city of Evora in Portugal’s Alentejo region, we could admire the increasing menace of the blackening sky against the whitewashed buildings.

We were safe in the knowledge that Evora’s coffee shops and churches provided the emergency cover for us when the sky would inevitably empty its cargo of water on the city. I was struck by the contrast between the city’s white buildings reflecting the final rays of the sun before it was consumed by the growing blackness, and the sky itself, which was taking on an unmistakably ominous appearance. It was almost as if I was viewing the world in negative.

The storm did arrive around sunset and gave the town a thorough soaking.

A couple of days later on Easter Sunday just across the border in the Spanish city of Merida, an even bigger storm arrived with us to disturb the evening sunshine. The picture below is around 5 minutes before impact. More on Merida in an upcoming post.

Storm warning: black clouds over Evora, Portugal is a post from: 501 Places

Portugal was a country that in my world had long stood alone. For many years it had been the only gap on my western European travel map. It may be because it’s out on a limb; you don’t go through Portugal to get to anywhere. So it was a long overdue moment when we touched down in Lisbon and we were able to explore this country that brought us Vasco da Gama, Christiano Ronaldo and piri-piri chicken.

We spent two and a half days in Lisbon and got to see a few of the main sights in that time. How much time do you need? That depends on how much you want to see, but what is not in doubt is the need to bring with you the right shoes to handle the city’s treacherous cobbles. I didn’t, and found myself nursing an impressive selection of blisters by the end of day 2. Self-inflicted but no less unpleasant as a result: be warned.

An easy to negotiate, the highlights of Lisbon can be divided into three areas. On a weekend trip allow each of these at least a half day.

Belem

It is here that Lisbon’s most photographed building is found. The Belem tower stands on the shoreline, around 5km west of the centre of the city. The park and promenade in front of this chunky 16th century fortification are a popular spot for Lisbon families to enjoy the afternoon sunshine, and to watch the crowds of tourists presumably. The tower has been designated World Heritage Site status along with the nearby Jeronimo Monastery, and both are well worth the tram ride out of the city.

A relatively new addition to the Belem district is the Padrao dos Descobrimentos, or the Discoveries Monument. This pays homage to the legions of Portuguese explorers of the 15th and 16th centuries, many of whom probably set sail from somewhere close to this spot. You can climb to the top of the monument to see wider views of the Tagus estuary, although the views from ground level are very good on a sunny day.

Downtown Area

Lisbon’s central area is easy to get around by foot, and trams run around much of the city if your feet tire of walking. It’s a surprisingly hilly city so take the opportunity to make use of the funicular Elevadores. These bright yellow cars have shuffled up and down the hills of Lisbon for over 100 years; as well as providing an easy ascent to the best viewpoints in town, they are an attraction in themselves. The careful counterbalancing requires that a maximum of 20 people can go up the hill while only 15 can come down.

Other attractions include the impressive cathedral and the Castelo de Sao Jorge that overlooks every part of the city from its prominent spot high to the east of the central area. Although the castle is open until 9pm in the summer, be sure to get there before 5pm to see the Camera Obscura in action. As a big fan of these clever devices I was disappointed to miss out on this unusual view of Lisbon.

An obscure sight is the statue to Dr Jose Tomas de Sousa Martins above the centre of the city. He is a 19th physician who spent his life working with the poor of the city in the treatment of TB, eventually succumbing to the disease himself. Since his death he has been credited for many miracle cures and a legion of devoted followers come to the statue to give thanks, in the form of stone slabs carved with their personal messages.

The central area is packed with restaurants, most of which have touts cajolling passing tourists to sit in their chairs and eat from their plates. I have a strict rule about never eating at a place with a tout outside, and after a brief search we found the excellent Casa Da Mo, serving good Portuguese food in an unhurried and pleasant environment. We even went back there for our second night; something I rarely like to do.

Parque das Nações

A new district that was developed on the east of the city to house the World Expo 98 event, it gleams in the shadow of the 17km long Vasco da Gama bridge. While the bridge dominates the waterfront, it is Calatrava’s Oriente station building that is king of the shoreline. A bus, train and metro transport hub, it is linked to the swanky Vasco da Gama shopping mall. I’m not a shopper but I did appreciate the well stocked food court.

Most visitors come to this district to visit the Oceanarium, said to be the second largest in the world. Be prepared to stand in line during busy periods as it is a very popular attraction; we queued for 20 minutes to get our entry tickets. Well worth a look, the central tank is home to a wide range of species, many of which presumably would never meet in the natural world. I was left wandering why many of the exhibits hadn’t eaten each other, and I concluded that they had become so deeply institutionalised that the killing instinct had left them for ever. Our personal highlight was the mystical sea dragon, which looked for all the world like a piece of plant life until it floated gracefully across its circular tank.

The Parque das Nações is full of weird and wonderful sights and you can easy pass a couple of hours here. Don’t miss the flags of every nation in the world here, along with a musical playground, volcano fountains and some very weird interactive sculpture.

Sintra

We took the chance to visit Sintra, around 30 km out of Lisbon and home to the magnificent Pena Palace. It’s well worth a visit but try to get there earlier than 10am – we didn’t and had to negotiate our way around in between several very large tour groups. There is a direct train service to Sintra from the city centre.

Lisbon Card

I was grateful to the Lisbon Tourism folks for offering me a complimentary Lisbon Card (ok, I did request it). With one free card we purchased another 48 hour pass for the normal rate of €29.50. This allows free entry to some city attractions, discounts for others and free public transport anywhere in the city.

Having a card is very convenient, especially if you end up using public transport extensively. However, I think it would be hard work to visit enough attractions to make the cards worthwhile financially. We did a lot in two days, and as our cards started at lunchtime we even took the chance to use the card in nearby Sintra on the third morning, yet we made savings of €42 between the two of us; good as we got a complimentary card, but not worthwhile if we had paid full price for two. The thing is that Lisbon’s attractions are very reasonably priced, meaning that even a busy itinerary of sightseeing, and there is much to see, will not break the bank.

7 highlights of Lisbon: a 48 hour itinerary is a post from: 501 Places