Early evidence of the first settlers in the Estremoz area dates back to Neolithic or Stone Age times. With over a thousand individual megaliths in the Evora and Estremoz region of the Alentejo alone* it is testament to an early civilisation having made their home here.
In my eyes, Estremoz as a town offers many reasons to fall in love with it. Indeed, the Alentejo region itself is an antidote to the everyday stresses of modern life, and Estremoz as a centre for visitors offers so much.
From whichever direction you approach the town of Estremoz, the skyline is dominated by its castle and the surrounding medieval town walls. In the largely flat terrain of the Alentejo, you can see why the town has always been a place of strategic importance—set on two important trade routes (Faro-Guada and Lisbon-Madrid) and being close to the border with Spain, Portugal’s age-old enemy.
The all-year-round Saturday market is one of the things that really drew us to Estremoz. As fans of everything vintage, second-hand, retro and recyclable – not to mention the love of a good bargain – a trip into town to go to the market is a real treat. If you find yourself in the Alentejo it is something you must not miss!
Follow any of the pedra calçada streets to the outskirts of town and you will likely pass the austere marble quarries that are the reason Estremoz is known as the ‘white town’.