LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION
Itinerary: View from the Castle
Untitled Document
TWO WEEKS / LISBON TO LISBON
This route is around 850km. It’s possible to cover it by public transport, though you’d spend a lot of time on buses, and transport to some of these remote towns is infrequent.
The wondrous old Moorish castle atop Lisbon is an excellent starting point for this journey into Portugal’s medieval history. After taking in the capital’s fine panoramas, head northeast to Monsanto, a fairy tale village dating to Visigoth times. From there stop off in neighbouring Idanha-a-Velha, an extraordinary town with Roman and Visigoth roots and, like Monsanto, a fine castle. Head south to the Alto Alentejo’s twin fortress hilltop towns of Castelo de Vide and Marvão, the latter rising from a craggy peak.
The next stop is Elvas, with its extraordinary zigzagging fortifications protecting narrow streets, only 14km from Spain. Its tiny size contrasts nicely with the pristine, walled town of Unesco-listed Évora. Linger here for high culture, cathedral-gazing and Alentejan haute cuisine, and take a daytrip out to see the striking Neolithic ruins – particularly the Cromeleque dos Almendres, one of the most important megalithic sites on the Iberian peninsula.
After a bit of Stone-Age musing, head to the magical hilltop village of Monsaraz overlooking ancient olive groves and land littered with yet more Neolithic sites. From there dip down to Beja, the sedate, pretty capital of Baixo Alentejo, to access Mértola, one of Alentejo’s most dramatic hilltop villages, an open-air museum with a Moorish legacy, set high above the meandering Rio Guadiana.
Lonely Planet recommends World Nomads Travel insurance
