On the slopes of the Serra de São Mamede, a few kilometres from Marvão, Castelo de Vide is a white village surrounded by woods and green fields, full of springs and fountains, so much so that it is called the "Sintra of the Alentejo". It is one of the prettiest towns in inland Portugal, perfect for an unhurried stroll among flowery lanes, churches and views.
The Jewish quarter
The most fascinating quarter is the Judiaria, the old Jewish quarter, a tangle of steep lanes between the castle and the lower town, where a thriving Jewish community lived in the Middle Ages, swelled after 1492 by many Jews expelled from Spain. The houses keep Gothic doorways and marks carved in the door frames. Here is the old synagogue, considered one of the oldest in Portugal, now a small museum on the history of the region's Jews and the forced conversions of 1497.
The castle and the Fonte da Vila
At the top of the village is the fourteenth-century castle, with its keep and, within the walls, a little medieval quarter with the church of Nossa Senhora da Alegria, lined with azulejos. Below the Jewish quarter, the Fonte da Vila, a Renaissance fountain under a granite canopy, is the village's symbol: tradition says that whoever drinks its water will return to Castelo de Vide. The area's mineral waters are famous and once drew spa-goers from all over the country. On the main square, dominated by the large church of Santa Maria da Devesa, are cafés and pastry shops.
Easter and surroundings
Castelo de Vide is known for its Easter, one of the most heartfelt in the country, with processions, the blessing of lambs on Holy Saturday and a popular festival with music and dancing. The surrounding countryside is full of megalithic monuments, dolmens and menhirs, including the Meada menhir, one of the tallest in the Iberian Peninsula. Castelo de Vide is about half an hour by car from Portalegre; together with Marvão it makes one of the finest pairings in the Alentejo.