Home /
Location Guide /
Alentejo
Less than 1 hour and 30 minutes from Faro airport, Alentejo is a picturesque region with its white washed villages and market towns. This rustic landscape of undulating plains is marked by an amazingly conserved terrain that makes it an ideal investment venue. As economic forecasts predict very optimistic capital growth of as much as 360% in the next ten years, properties in the whole of Portugal may yet prove to be the best deal available.
Alentejo is known as the “bread basket” of Portugal with the economy mainly reliant on agriculture. Bordered by granite hills in the Northeast, it is a scarcely populated region with wide open horizons,
A host of medieval castles dot the Northeast on what is known as the Rota dos Castelos (Castle Route). This scenic journey shows off the Nisa, Castelo de Vide, Marvão, Portalegre and Alter do Chão. To the South is Évora, considered one of the most beautiful towns in Portugal. Nearby are Estremoz, Vila Viçosa, Monsaraz and Arraiolos, a town known for hand made tapestries based on drawings from the 17th and 18th centuries. Here the landscape becomes warmer and flatter. Going further down South, the vast plains are less inhabited and sunnier, with the shade provided only by a sparse clump of olive trees and oak trees. There is also Alvito, Beja where travellers can stay in historic pousadas, and Serpa and Mértola. The coastline to the west offers magnificent Atlantic beaches.
To the east of Portalegre is the Parque Natural da Serra de São Mamede, a Nature Park Area with medieval villages. In the south near Mértola is another Nature Park Area named Parque Natural do Vale Guadiana. This is mainly uninhabited and a contrast to the other park in São Mamede. To the west, the coastal strip from the port of Sines to Cape de São Vicente is also a reserved area.
