7 Best Sights in Portalegre, Évora and the Alentejo

If you're interested in horses, you must visit the Alter Stud Farm, 22 km (14 miles) southwest of Portalegre. It was founded by Dom João V in 1748 to furnish royalty with high-quality mounts. Dedicated to preserving and developing the beautiful Alter Real (Royal Alter) strain of the Lusitania breed, the farm has had a long, turbulent history. After years of foreign invasion and pillage, little remains of its original structures, but a huge modern equestrian complex now surrounds the older buildings. Fortunately, the equine bloodline, one of Europe's noblest, has been preserved, and you can watch these superb horses being trained and exercised on the farm. There are also three small but interesting museums here: one documents the history of the farm, one has a collection of horse-drawn carriages, and one has displays on the art of falconry. The town of Alter do Chão itself, with the battlements of a 14th-century castle overlooking a square, is also worth a stroll.

Founded in 1518, the Monastery of Saint Bernard is a beautiful Renaissance property that includes a tiled church, cloisters with a central garden and fountain, and a mausoleum. The monastery closed after the last monk died in 1878, and since then the building has been used as a seminary, a high school, a municipal museum, and military barracks. It's now used by the National Guard, which opens the building to visitors during selected hours.

This wonderful museum holds a contemporary collection of the tapestries that made Portalegre world famous. The museum is named after Guy Fino, the founder of one of the city's textile factories.

Halfway between the cathedral and the castle, the José Regio House and Museum was named for a local poet who bequeathed his collection of religious and folk art to the museum.

At the base of Portalegre's sloping cobblestone streets stands the town's castle, which dates to the early 14th century. Sadly, the castle's walls were disassembled in the 1930s to open streets around it to traffic. Now a wooden structure, somewhat controversial in its design, links the castle's body with an adjacent tower, where you can climb up for splendid views of the cathedral and city.

This 80,000-acre nature park lies roughly 5 km (3 miles) northeast of Portalegre and extends north to the fortified town of Marvão and the spa town of Castelo de Vide, and south to the little hamlet of Esperança on the Spanish border. The sparsely inhabited park region is made up of small family plots, and sheepherding is the major occupation. The area is rich in wildlife, including many rare species of birds, as well as wild boars, deer, and wildcats. It's a pristine, quiet place for hiking, riding, or simply communing with nature, and you'll rarely spot another tourist for miles and miles.

About 400 meters north of the castle lies Portalegre's cathedral, a 16th-century church and the town's most prominent landmark. The 18th-century facade is highlighted with marble columns and wrought-iron balconies. Inside are early-17th-century azulejos depicting the Virgin Mary.