George and Amal Clooney loved their vacation at Melides, on the Alentejo coast, so much they are building a home there. Read more →

The castle of Mértola is located on the highest point of the village. Even though the castle is of Muslim origin, the current building dates from a reconstruction carried out by the knights of the Order of Santiago after the village was taken by the Christians. The most notable feature of the castle is its 30 meter-high keep tower, finished around 1292, which has an inner hall covered with Gothic vaulting. The defences include a city wall, which still encircles the village. Read more →

Portuguese table wines ranked very highly in end-of-the-year reviews in two top wine magazines. These high ratings coincide with a significant increase in sales the wines have seen recently. Over the past three years, sales of Portuguese table wines have increased 40 percent and red wines grew by 125 percent. Read more →