In the last week of July I spent a week in Alentejo to explore some cities and towns there. I went there because of this whole situation of COVID-19, to return to some places and discover others. You can read my initial plans for the 2020 vacation here. It was a trip to rest, visit and die of heat 
.
Alentejo
Alentejo is a region in south-central Portugal 
, between the River Tejo and Algarve. To the east it borders on Spain an to the west it’s bathed by the Atlantic Ocean. It’s an extensive region, essentially rural and sparsely populated, which occupies about one third of the national territory. The main tourist attractions there are the two cities classified by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites, Évora and Elvas, as well as Alqueva, Monsaraz, Marvão, Vila Viçosa and others. The landscapes are incredible, land cultivated on both sides of the road, several monuments, as well as a amazingly good cuisine, essentialy based on the black pork 
, lamb 
and bread 
.
Duration of my trip
I went to Alentejo with my boyfriend and his parents from 27th July to 1st August, 6 days and 5 nights. It was a trip booked at the last minute but it was practically all organized by my boyfriend’s father. I love planning trips but it also feels good to go without knowing where I’m going.
Where I stayed
I stayed in Évora, one of the most important and well-known cities in Alentejo, more precisely at the Vitoria Stone hotel 4* 
. The hotel was located at a 10-minute walk from the historic city center and had everything we needed. It has a rooftop pool which, although small, was great for cooling off from the high temperatures. The rooms were very spacious and well decorated, the beds were comfortable and the bathroom had several hygiene products. In my opinion the worst was the breakfast, not because of the quality of the food, but the way it was served to us. Because of this COVID-19 situation, they had a menu and we asked for what we wanted. Both serving and being served is not easy but I would say that the hotel has to improve this aspect a little.
What I visited/did
I am not going to go into great detail regarding all the attractions I visited because I want to write other posts but, divided by days here goes:
- 1st day: Car trip from Porto, Montemor-o-Novo and Menir dos Almendres
- 2nd day: Historic city center of Évora
- 3rd day: Elvas and Marvão
- 4th day: Monsaraz and Mourão
- 5th day: Estremoz and Vila Viçosa
- 6th day: Alcácer do Sal and Bacalhôa Buddha Eden and car trip to Porto
Where I ate
In Alentejo, I ate very well and the reason is simple: they use the ingredients of the region and cook them in the best possible way. For lunch we always chose to have a lighter meal but at dinner we went to the best restaurants in Évora. For me, the best one was Taberna Típica Quarta-feira because it has a completely different concept than the others: we don’t choose the food, the chef does!
Stay tuned to follow the next posts about my trip to Alentejo! Don’t forget to follow the blog page on instagram to be the first to know the news.
