Europe > Portugal > Belmonte
Belmonte is a small hill town in Portugal's Beira Interior, but it carries more history than its size suggests. A medieval castle looks over the old centre, Pedro Alvares Cabral was born here, and the town is best known for a Jewish community that kept parts of its faith alive in secrecy for centuries after the Inquisition.
That story gives Belmonte its strongest identity. The Jewish Museum and Bet Eliahu Synagogue make the town more than another pretty Portuguese castle stop, while the castle and the Roman tower of Centum Cellas round out a compact half-day or day.
Belmonte is quiet, and that is part of the point. It works well if you are already crossing the Beira Interior, visiting Guarda or Covilha, or tracing Jewish heritage through inland Portugal.