--- description: Find out why The Alentejo, Portugal is on TIME's list of the world's greatest places of 2022. title: The Alentejo, Portugal: World's Greatest Places 2022 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5dbe93b1ca5cf290/698a337a47ca3881cc3b9c41/Worlds-Greatest-Places-2022-AlentejoPortugal.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Jul 12, 2022 # The Alentejo, Portugal Idyllic escape by Robin Catalano  The village of Marvao in Alentejo, Portugal. The village of Marvao in Alentejo, Portugal.Alamy Reclining between Lisbon and Algarve, the Alentejo—Portugal’s most rural and least populated region—is dotted with picturesque towns separated by cork forests and olive groves. But its many new goings-on offer a contrast with its unhurried pace. In the ancient city of Estremoz, the new [Museu Berardo Estremoz](http://museuberardoestremoz.pt/ "undefined") preserves traditional crafts like tile making. In Esperança, a roughly 10-mile trail through the Serra de São Mamede Nature Park takes hikers past 6,000-year-old cave paintings and birds of prey, including Bonelli’s eagles and Griffon vultures. A grownup theme park, [Vila do Gin](https://blackpig.pt/vila-do-gin/ "undefined"), is dedicated to the namesake spirit. After a day of adventure, visitors can stay at the new [Octant Évora](https://www.evorafarmhotel.com/en/ "undefined"), nestled amid orchards and meadows. And the towns of Elvas and Évora, both UNESCO World Heritage sites, have a raft of new accommodations—including [Vila Galé Collection Elvas](https://www.vilagale.com/en/hotels/alentejo/vila-gale-collection-elvas "undefined"), [Travassos 11](https://travassos-11-elvas.booked.com.pt/ "undefined"), and [Hotel o Canto](https://www.hotelocante.com/en/ "undefined")—that tastefully blend with their historic surroundings. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194515/the-alentejo-portugal/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194515/the-alentejo-portugal/"},"headline":"The Alentejo, Portugal","datePublished":"2022-07-12T11:06:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:04:42.180Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194515/the-alentejo-portugal/","keywords":["franchise","Magazine","World's Greatest Places"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5dbe93b1ca5cf290/698a337a47ca3881cc3b9c41/Worlds-Greatest-Places-2022-AlentejoPortugal.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5dbe93b1ca5cf290/698a337a47ca3881cc3b9c41/Worlds-Greatest-Places-2022-AlentejoPortugal.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194515/the-alentejo-portugal/","name":"The Alentejo, Portugal"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The World's Greatest Places of 2022","description":"50 extraordinary destinations to explore","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/by8VqGWH/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2022-07-11T22:04:53.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/by8VqGWH.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194515/the-alentejo-portugal/","duration":"PT1M47S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/worlds-greatest-places-2022/6194515/the-alentejo-portugal/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```