Elvas
26. september 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F
A city built on/in a giant fortress, with more fortresses on the surrounding hills.
Juromenha Fortress
26. september 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F
An abandoned fortress next to the Guadiana River and the border with Spain.
Cromeleque de Vale Maria do Meio
26. september 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F
An interesting formation of upright stones.
Vila Viçosa
27. september 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F
Small town, fort/castle, palace, church, convent. In modern times, they quarry a lot of marble here.
Evoramonte
27. september 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F
Small walled city with a unique castle that was used more as a hunting cabin than for defense.
Pre-historic site of Zambujeiro
27. september 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F
We have been finding a lot of these prehistoric monuments and burial sites in the area around Évora.
Estremoz
29. september 2025, Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 77 °F
Walled city of Estremoz. Most of the interior is private homes and the castle has been converted to a hotel, and the church and prison have been converted to restaurants. The hotel allows toursLæs mere
Arraiolos
29. september 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F
Small abandoned walled fortress with a church in the middle and minimal restoration. Not much time needed to wander through this one.
Marvão
30. september 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F
Impressive walled city. Easy to explore, even onto parts of the walls and tower. There was a bit of an insect infestation during our visit, else we would have stayed longer.
Castelo de Vide
30. september 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F
To be honest, this walled city was pretty disappointing. There is very little to see inside the walls, just a couple of streets with private homes, and the tower was closed. That said, the larger townLæs mere
A series of pre-historic monuments
30. september 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F
After exploring the two walled cities, we made a loop through the countryside to find a menhir and a series of antas / dolmens. They were constructed 5,000-6,000 years ago, and each was unique inLæs mere
Escoural cave
1. oktober 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F
A very interesting cave! Stalactites and stalagmites, so it gets wet, but only with infrequent heavy rain. Pre-historic people created cave art over 30,000 years ago, and the cave was used forLæs mere
Our final pre-historic rock structure
1. oktober 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F
One final pre-historic arrangement of rocks before we leave this part of Portugal. This is a cromlech - rocks arranged in a circle.
Coimbra
1.–5. okt. 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F
Slowly heading back north. There are a few sights to see in this town and also to the southwest.
Two caves and a castle
4. oktober 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F
We started the day exploring two large limestone caves. The Coin Caves had the better tour. More personal, in English, and not rushed. The Mira de Aire Cave was a large group and narrated inLæs mere
Maybe the best castle? Montemor-o-Velho
5. oktober 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F
Maybe the last castle we'll visit in Portugal, but maybe the best of all we've seen? A great combination of walk ability, restoration, towers, walls, and views.
Conimbriga Roman ruins
5. oktober 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F
This site was much larger than we expected, with a Roman road, aqueduct, houses, bathhouses, and a central forum.
Buçaco Palace Hotel
5.–7. okt. 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F
We heard about this palace and booked 2 nights here to give us time (and permission) to explore. Definitely worth it! Only guests allowed inside and the decor isn't something you fully appreciate withLæs mere
A brief stop in Viseu
7. oktober 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F
We needed a stop to break up our drive and also so we wouldn't get to our next stop too early. Viseu was unfortunately a bit disappointing. A couple of interesting bits, but I don't think I'd go outLæs mere
Douro Valley
7.–11. okt. 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F
Having enjoyed our daytrip earlier in the summer, we decided to return for a longer visit to this area. There are small vineyards and quintas around every turn. You really have to know which ones youLæs mere
Ucanha
9. oktober 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F
We heard about this town, famous for a medieval toll bridge and also for Portuguese moonshine.
Lamego
9. oktober 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F
A nearby town, a hike up a hill, and an archeology museum.
Porto Visit #2
11.–15. okt. 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F
We wanted to coast to the end of our trip, so we returned to Porto for a few slower days in a familiar, comfortable city. We stayed in a slightly different location, but still close to the sights fromLæs mere
Porto six-bridges river cruise
13. oktober 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F
We took a nice two-hour trip on the Douro River, learning about the bridges and tasting Port wine.
Porto airport hotel
15.–16. okt. 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F
One night at an airport hotel, just to make the travel day less stressful. Nothing scenic at the hotel, so instead I'll use a photo from dinner at a nearby bistro.