The castle
Rooftop views.
Jocelyn Erskine-Kellie from London, UK — CC BY 2.0 · Jocelyn Erskine-Kellie from London, UK — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Pedro Paulo Palazzo — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Concierge.2C — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL — CC BY-SA 2.0
Castelo de Vide is a small hill town in the northern Alentejo, eastern Portugal, near the Spanish border, about 14 km in a straight line north of Portalegre. Its white houses with red tiled roofs climb a hillside below a medieval castle. People have lived in the area since the Neolithic, and ancient megalithic monuments are scattered around it. Castelo de Vide became a municipality of its own in 1276 and served as a border stronghold. From the castle at the top of the hill there are views over the red rooftops, the plains and the surrounding São Mamede hills. Below the castle wind the cobbled lanes of the old quarter, with houses that have Gothic stone doorways. A large Jewish community lived here in the Middle Ages, and a small old synagogue survives as a museum. The town is also known for its springs and the 16th-century stone Fonte da Vila fountain. Exploring the town and castle is free. The walled mountaintop village of Marvão is nearby, and the two make an easy day together.
Rooftop views.
Cobbled lanes.
Stone fountain.
Castelo de Vide, Alentejo, Portugal
Yes.
The walled village of Marvão.