Alentejo

A vast plain south of the Tagus, where whitewashed towns, cork oak forests, wine estates and the old city of Évora make for slow travel.

In this scheme the region includes the three districts of Évora, Beja and Portalegre, plus the whole of Santarém district (Turismo de Portugal actually counts Tomar and other places in northern Santarém as part of the Centro; they are merged here for ease of division by administrative district); to the west, the Lisbon and Setúbal districts belong to the "Lisbon Region", to the south Faro district is the "Algarve", and to the east it borders Extremadura in Spain. Évora's historic center (a World Heritage Site) has a Roman temple, a cathedral and the Chapel of Bones; nearby, the hilltop white village of Monsaraz overlooks Alqueva Lake, and Almendres has the largest stone circle in the Iberian Peninsula; also the border fortifications of Elvas (a World Heritage Site), the hill towns of Marvão and Castelo de Vide, and the marble town of Estremoz; within Santarém district are the Convent of Christ in Tomar (a World Heritage Site) and the old town of Santarém; and in the south, the Islamic remains of Beja and Mértola. Vast cork oak forests, wine estates and Alentejo cuisine are also attractions. A common itinerary uses Évora as a base for 2–3 days, linking Monsaraz, Estremoz and Marvão by car; it is especially easy to combine with Lisbon or the Algarve. The train or bus from Lisbon to Évora takes about 1.5 hours, but getting between the other towns mostly requires a car. Summers are extremely hot, so avoid the midday heat; services are sparse in the countryside, so fill up with fuel in advance when driving.

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