Portalegre

Portalegre lies on one of the sides of Serra de São Mamede, a mountainous range with a variety of fauna and flora part of which has now been designated a natural park. Eagles, deers and wild boars, for example, live among woods of chestnut trees and oaks, while megaliths indicate that it was inhabited in prehistoric times.
Portalegre itself is of roman origin though it is filled with fine Renaissance and Baroque mansions.

Castelo de Vide, on another green slope of Serra de São Mamede, is known for its curative waters since roman times and its castle, that gave the town its name and was rebuilt in 1310, was greatly damaged by an explosion in 1705.
From the castle in Marvão, spectacularly set on an escarpment facing Serra de São Mamede and Spain, splendid views can be enjoyed over the fertile plains. This small and tranquil medieval town is completely enclosed by walls, with whitewashed houses blending into the granite of the moutains.

Near Crato, whose castle remains in ruins, the monastery and church of Flor da Rosa, built in 1356, has now been turned into a "pousada" (state inn).
Other towns to visit are Alter do Chão, with its five-towered castle and gothic portal, and Campo Maior, with its rather morbid Capela dos Ossos (Chapel of Bones), dated from 1766 and entirely covered with human bones.

Elvas, just a few kilometres from the Spanish border, is a busy city due to this neighbourhood, but offers a roman-moorish castle and an imposing 16th-century aqueduct that surrounds the old town.

Torre de Palma Roman Villa (Monforte)
This Roman Villa is located at Monforte’s estate. It’s a rustic villa, where a powerful roman family was possibly settled between the 2nd and the 4th centuries.
The Villa expands itself over a soft hill, near a small river, and around a wide interior yard.
It’s large and sumptuous accommodations were grouped around a square yard with shed settled in columns and a tank in the middle.

Nisa’s Historical Center (Nisa)
A housing nucleus with ancestral architectonic features can be found right in the village’s heart. It’s a pleasant place where several museums, making a visit worthwhile, can be found.

Castle (Nisa)
This castle was founded by the king D. Dinis and was, in times gone by, surrounded by walls and towers that used to surround the village.
Actually, and from the original monument, only two doors and part of the wall still remain.

S. Gens Dolmen (Nisa)
The S. Gens Dolmen is integrated in a four megalithic monument group. Between the exhumed materials, one can find bone pouches, pottery and lithic material like arrow’s tips.

Old House (Rio Maior)
Also known as Assento House. The Old House was built on the 18th century and is located in the new part of the town.
In the interior of this building works daily the Municipal Market.

Walls from the 17th century (Elvas)
The encompassing walls from the 17th century are monuments that still impress by its greatness and stability. On this wall there were three main doors named Esquina, Olivença and S. Vicente that used to be locked at midnight and opened at dawn
Meanwhile, on the fifties, and with the purpose of making the communication between the "inside wall" town and the new quarters "outside wall" easier, a viaduct and an opening were built.

Ajuda Bridge (Elvas)
Built on the 16th century, and besides the disastrous destruction during the Peninsular Wars, one can still see this bridge’s grandiosity.
The bridge, 400 meters long and 5.5 meters large, used the support in 19 bows and on the centre there was a fortified tower with three floors, kept by two doors.

Caia’s Dam (Elvas)
Opened to sportive fishing, responsible for the introduction on the local gastronomy of tasty fishing dishes, it also allows the practice of non motor water sports. With a dazzling scenical beauty, its shores offer shaded retreats that invite the visitor to rest, and several tracks to take a walk.