Reguengos de Monsaraz lies in the Alentejo near the Guadiana River and the Spanish border. The municipality links the workaday town of Reguengos with Monsaraz, a tiny walled village on a hill above the Alqueva reservoir, plus a scattering of prehistoric sites in the dry country around it.
This is one of Portugal's best areas for combining old stone and open landscape. Megalithic monuments such as the Xerez Cromlech and the Menhir of Bulhoa point to settlement long before Roman or Moorish rule, while Monsaraz keeps the drama of a medieval hilltop stronghold.
The pace is slow, the distances are short, and the light is pure Alentejo: harsh at midday, beautiful in the evening. Come from Évora for a day trip, or stay longer if you want wine estates, lake views, and quiet roads along the border.