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.