Alcácer do Sal and the Comporta coast
Most of our Alentejo homes are around Alcácer do Sal, a white town stacked up a hill above the Sado river, with a castle at the top and storks nesting on the rooftops. Rice fields line the estuary towards Comporta and Carvalhal, where the beaches run for miles behind dunes. Tróia, at the tip of the peninsula, has a car ferry across to Setúbal. Lisbon airport is about an hour away.
Best for: Long beaches and rice-field countryside about an hour from Lisbon
Not for you if: You want to walk to the beach: Alcácer is on a river, around 25 minutes inland.
Santiago do Cacém and the Santo André coast
Santiago do Cacém climbs to a castle with views to the sea, and the Roman town of Miróbriga is on its edge. The Lagoa de Santo André, a lagoon behind the dunes, is about 15 minutes away and has calmer water for children than the open Atlantic beaches either side. Porto Covo, a small whitewashed fishing village, is around half an hour south. Lisbon airport is about an hour and a half away.
Best for: Lagoon swimming, a castle town and a quieter stretch of coast
Not for you if: You want a resort with a promenade: this coast is dunes, pine forest and small beach cafes.
São Luís and the Vicentine coast (Odemira)
São Luís is a hill village in the Odemira countryside, around 20 minutes from Vila Nova de Milfontes, where the Mira river meets the sea and you can choose between calm river beaches and surf. The Rota Vicentina coastal trail follows the cliffs south through Almograve and Zambujeira do Mar. Lisbon and Faro airports are each around two hours away.
Best for: Walkers on the Rota Vicentina, cliffs and wild beaches
Not for you if: You want a choice of homes: we have very few here.
Évora and São Miguel de Machede
Évora's walled centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with a Roman temple, a Gothic cathedral and the Capela dos Ossos, a chapel lined with human bones. The Almendres stone circle stands among cork oaks about 20 minutes west, and wine estates around the city run tastings. São Miguel de Machede is a farming village around 15 minutes east. Lisbon airport is about an hour and a half by motorway.
Best for: A walled UNESCO city with farmland and wine estates around it
Not for you if: You want the beach: the coast is around an hour and a half away.
Vila Viçosa and the marble towns (near the Spanish border)
Vila Viçosa was the seat of the Dukes of Braganza, whose long marble-fronted palace faces a huge square. Marble is quarried all round here, and it turns up in doorsteps and pavements in Borba and Estremoz, which has a hilltop castle and a big Saturday market. The fortified frontier town of Elvas, another UNESCO site, is about 30 minutes east. Lisbon airport is around two hours away.
Best for: Palaces, marble quarries and a quiet base in the far east
Not for you if: You want easy beach days: the coast is well over two hours away.
