Everyone goes to Lisbon and Porto. But the real Portugal – the one with rolling golden plains, ancient olive groves, and villages where time moves slowly – that’s the Alentejo.
I spent two weeks exploring this region and fell completely in love.
What makes Alentejo special
The Alentejo produces most of Portugal’s cork and some of its best wines. It’s a landscape of whitewashed villages, endless wheat fields, and cork oak forests stretching to the horizon.
In Alentejo, lunch takes two hours, dinner takes three, and nobody apologizes for it.
Where to go
- Évora: UNESCO-listed medieval city, incredible Roman temple
- Monsaraz: Hilltop village with castle views
- Marvão: Eagle’s nest village on the Spanish border
- Comporta: Untouched beaches, rice paddies, stork nests
