5 Best Sights in Évora and the Alentejo, Portugal

This little gem of a museum located inside the castle walls has light-filled rooms displaying artifacts from Serpa dating from the Paleolithic to the Islamic period. The first floor covers the Prehistoric Period to the Iron Age, and the top floor houses artifacts from the Roman era, Late Antiquity, and the Moorish era. Artifacts include pottery, parts of marble and stone columns, coins, and jewelry. New features include kiosks featuring films by a local filmmaker.

This handsome museum is in a stately late-17th-century baroque building between the Sé and the Largo do Conde de Vila Flor. Once a palace that accommodated bishops, it contains a rich collection of sculpture and paintings as well as interesting archaeological and architectural artifacts. The first-floor galleries, arranged around a pleasant garden, include several excellent carved pillars and a fine Manueline doorway.

This small museum, next to the parish church, displays religious artifacts, well-preserved frescoes, and the original town charter, signed by Dom Manuel in 1512. The former tribunal contains an interesting 15th-century fresco that depicts Christ presiding over figures of Truth and Deception.

This museum is housed in a lovely 17th-century almshouse across from the castle. Its displays chronicle the development of the region and range from Roman artifacts to contemporary pottery, including a collection of the brightly colored figurines for which Estremoz is famous.

This museum is next to the Castelo de Beja in a 6th-century church—one of Portugal's oldest standing buildings. It houses an impressive collection of tombstones, weapons, and pottery that documents the Visigoth presence in the region.