I'd been meaning to go for three years. Everyone who'd been said the same thing: it's not like the rest of Portugal. That turned out to be both accurate and an understatement.
Getting there
We rented a car in Lisbon and drove south on the A2. Two hours to Évora, which is the obvious base. Don't skip Évora — the city is small enough to walk entirely and old enough to make you feel unserious for having been worried about your inbox.
“The Alentejo doesn't give you things to do. It gives you reasons to stop doing things.
What to eat
Migas everywhere. Black pork. The bread is different here — denser, slightly sour, the kind that holds up to olive oil rather than collapsing into it. We ate lunch at a place in Monsaraz with no menu, just whatever the kitchen had. It was the best meal of the trip by a wide margin.
What I'd do differently
Stay longer. I'd build in at least two days with nothing planned — no towns, no driving. The Alentejo is one of the few places I've been where the thing to do is genuinely stay where you are and look at the landscape. I didn't understand that until the last day.
Elena Marchetti
Writer, slow-living enthusiast, and perpetual re-arranger of couch cushions. I share honest reviews of the things I actually live with.
