"Our First Mountain-top Village" a Monsaraz Travel Page by Bwana_Brown

Having completed both our long drive from the Algarve as well as exploration of the city of Evora the previous day, we were up and away early on the 4th day of our road trip from Lisbon. We had read a great deal about how scenic the border-castle villages were, and also the fact that you have to park your car outside the village walls, forcing you to take to your feet if you want to see what delights await inside!

As an added bonus, we had the magnificent countryside of the Alentejo area to enjoy for the rest of the day, because we had to keep on moving north to be in Castelo Branco for that evening.

Monsaraz and the surrounding area certainly did not disappoint, except for the fact that we were not able to find the ancient dolmen and cromlechs located very close by. We tried a few of the smaller country roads in some of the hamlets next to the castle but were unable to find any signs that pointed us in the right direction.

Later in the afternoon, as we passed by Vila Vicosa and Estremoz, we were amazed at both the huge marble quarries and the plantations of harvested cork oak trees. Altogether, it was another great day in our trip!

For a map showing the location of Monsaraz, please check my 'General' tip.