Stand on the cliff face and look off to sea, enjoying the fresh breeze. The surf below competes with the noise of the traffic along the Avenida Marginal. Look down: there surrounded by a circular wall and covered by vegetation are the vestiges of caves that were carved into the rock over 4,000 years ago. …
Portuguese name: Grutas de Alapraia or Grutas Artificiais de Alapraia. Also known as: Necrópole Eneolítica de Alapraia Walk around the neighbourhood of Alapraia, and look into the yards of the houses, read the menu from the restaurant, look at the notices of the clinic. Little glimpses of life in this suburban area surround you. Then …
Standing tall on a hillside in the Algarve, this solitary menir bears witness to the vast stretches of time between us and the earliest occupation of this land by people, over seven thousand years ago. This menir is a tall stone of white limestone, the only one standing of a group that originally might have …
Portuguese name: Núcleo Interpretativo do Megalitismo Walk inside the beautiful Remedios Convent and follow the signs past the menirs on display, and you enter a small but fascinating museum of megalithism in the heart of Évora. Celebratings the discoveries in the surrounding regions, the displays will give you information about sites to visit, how the …
Also known as: Povoado Pré-Histórico de Santa Vitória Climb the metal staircase which spirals 4 meters above the hilltop. Look around at the surrounding countryside: the farms, the nearby town, the water works behind you. Then look down at the hilltop surface. Look closely. There, carved into the ground are curving ditches and holes. They …
Walking through the fields in this Alto Alentejo countryside, horses gambol around you. Splash across the small stream and look up at the hill before you. A towering eucalyptus tree near its top stands out in the landscape, and you make for it. As you climb the hill, the trees clear out and you see …
Portuguese name: Museu de Arqueologia e Etnografia de Elvas António Tómas Pires As you explore this historic building, you can look at historic displays while walking through one. The walls show one part of history, and the displays reveal many others. Videos show the work done in the bakeries in the building during recent years, …
Standing midway up a hill, overlooking the Algarve coast, the scrubland stretches around you. The power lines above emit a faint hum and you can hear some sounds of work from the nearby quarry. Before you, the battered and scarred stone leans slightly to one side, as if it was tired from its long vigil. …
Walk through the quiet village of São Geraldo, and turn down the small lane of Rua Esquerda. Say “bom dia” to the old gentlemen sitting in chairs on the lane outside their houses, having a chat. Then, when you see the silver metal historic plaque from Évora Turismo at the end of the lane, look …
Also known as: monumento megalítico de Monte Serves The wind blows gently through the tall grass on the hillside as you look out over the broad estuary of the Rio Tejo. Squint and you can see the Vasco da Gama bridge stretching across the water. Every few minutes you can see an aeroplane taking off …