A medieval village is a great place for lunch: Monsaraz

Sunday, October 27, 2019                                                                        Monsaraz

Monsaraz is a perfectly preserved mideaval hilltop village - just the right place for a lunch stop

It's setting provides beautiful vistas across the countryside, including this large man-made lake

We stopped for lunch in Monsaraz, a tiny hilltop village in the center of the Alentejo village.  It is made of lime and schist, and every façade is gleaming white.  From the top of the hill, you have a view over the Guadiana River and a large lake created by a dam.  It traded between Moor’s and  Christian’s  dominance until the 1200’s when the Knights of the Templars recovered it for the final time.  The hilltop area has evidence of being settled during prehistoric times and it’s military position is still evident by the wall surrounding the city and the fort at the western end with a large open area used by the militia.

Today, it’s a museum village which won the top prize in the category of “villages” for the competition 7 Maravilhas de Portugal – Aldeias (7 Wonders of Portugual – Villages).

You must enter the town through one of the arched gates in it's city walls - no cars here!

The belvedere outside the village walls overlooking the countryside

These village walls were defended by the Knights of the Templars during the 1200's.

Our first stop was lunch at the Restaurante Casa do Forno - our lovely tour director Elena.

 Ou lunch at the Casa do Forno was served with wine and bread and olives.  We began with a bitter green soup, and continued with roasted lamb and potatoes, salad and a sweetened squash for dessert.

It seemed to be a quiet afternoon in Monsaraz

Central plaza

The fortress - and the gift shop where I bought some cork trivets

It was getting late in the afternoon by the time we left for our next stop