Reguengos de Monsaraz: Megaliths, ceramics and the Alentejo

A fresco with a secular theme, rediscovered in 1958: The courtroom of the Museu do Fresco houses a 15th-century work considered unique in Portugal because of its profane subject. Since 2010, the museum has presented annual themed exhibitions that offer a broader insight into the region’s history and culture. The landscape also shapes your stay: the municipality of Reguengos de Monsaraz connects the Alentejo plain with the waters of the Alqueva reservoir. The Mediterranean climate brings hot, dry summers and short, rainy winters. If you are looking for a hotel for your trip, you can first consider whether you would most like to experience historic sites, walking trails, ceramics, wine or the starry sky.

Discover megaliths and history

The municipality has more than 1,500 archaeological sites left by people who lived there over 6,000 years ago. These stone remains include 276 megalithic monuments; their concentration is considered one of the largest in Europe. The Cromeleque dos Perdigões consists of six menhirs erected between the beginning of the 4th and the middle of the 3rd millennium BC, during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods.

The Perdigões archaeological site lies about two kilometres northeast of Reguengos de Monsaraz, at the western end of the Álamo Valley; Monsaraz lies on the eastern horizon. The site includes a complex system of ditches and areas with different functions, such as settlement areas, a necropolis and a megalithic enclosure. The Rota do Megalitismo de Reguengos crosses the landscape of the Vale do Álamo between the large Perdigões enclosure in the west and the Guadiana in the east. Along the route, you can see eight dolmens, four menhirs or stelae, and a cromlech, Xerez. It is about 62 kilometres long, with another 47 kilometres to San Blás.

Monsaraz also tells the story of successive eras: archaeological traces date from prehistoric times to the Iron Age. Later, Romans, Visigoths, Arabs, Mozarabs and Jews lived there. The Casa da Inquisição has themed rooms devoted to the Abrahamic religions—Christianity, Judaism and Islam—as well as to the history and presence of the Jewish population in Monsaraz. In Reguengos de Monsaraz, the Igreja Matriz de Santo António was inaugurated on 25 August 1912. The Biblioteca Municipal is housed in the Palácio Rojão, a palace built in the first half of the 19th century with a Romantic design and Moorish elements on its façade. It holds around 30,000 books and a permanent exhibition on the municipality’s traditional arts and crafts.

Ceramics, wine and regional cuisine

More than two dozen potteries operate continuously in São Pedro do Corval; the town is considered Portugal’s largest pottery centre and one of the largest on the Iberian Peninsula. Visitors can watch clay being shaped on a potter’s wheel while learning about the potter’s knowledge and experience. The Casa do Barro Interpretation Centre promotes pottery in São Pedro do Corval and shares knowledge about clay and ceramics. Check access to the centre before visiting. Local craft traditions also include the Mantas de Reguengos: these blankets are woven from pure sheep’s wool and preserve patterns of Arab origin.

The Reguengos de Monsaraz wine region has eleven wineries, ten of which offer wine tourism to visitors. At Herdade do Esporão, tours are offered of the vineyards, winery, olive grove and oil mill, gardens and ampelography field. Trails there invite visitors to explore the estate’s biodiversity. The estate’s 120-hectare reservoir area serves as a refuge for biodiversity and includes wetland margins and riverside vegetation. Regional cuisine also has its own distinctive touches: starters include Alentejo bread with olives, goat’s or sheep’s cheese, and black pork charcuterie. Typical dishes include açorda, migas with wild asparagus and eggs, silarcas, favada, pork migas, lamb stew and game dishes.

Go hiking and observe the starry sky

The municipality has four marked walking trails with information boards in Portuguese and English. The routes are circular and can be walked year-round. You can choose a route based on its length and the time required: the moderately difficult PR1 Escritas de Pedra e Cal in Monsaraz is 10.8 kilometres long, with an additional 1.4-kilometre spur; walking time is three to four hours. It starts and ends at the square next to the Ermida de São João Batista. The moderately difficult PR3 À Descoberta do Pinhal in Corval is seven kilometres long and takes two to three hours. A circular option with an easy level of difficulty is the Rota de São Marcos do Campo in the União de Freguesias de Campo e Campinho area: it is listed as either 7.8 or 6.3 kilometres long.

For evening stargazing, the Official Dark Sky® Alqueva Observatory is located in the village of Cumeada and has telescopes for solar and astronomical observation. The Stargazing Session lasts about one hour and 15 minutes and includes a guided observation using high-quality optical telescopes. From Tuesday to Saturday, sessions are available by prior booking only; each evening, one session is held in Portuguese and one in English. The Centro Náutico de Monsaraz has a mooring area for boats and a slipway. The Centro Náutico e Praia Fluvial de Monsaraz has a children’s area and a picnic park for families.

Discover more destinations: Reguengos De Monsaraz, Monsaraz, Corval, Roncão, Vendas Novas, Evora, Arraiolos, Portel.

Go to the parent travel overview: Evora.