The Alentejo is one of Portugal's undiscovered regions. Sitting above the Algarve and below the Central Portugal region, it spans the entire width of Portugal, bordering with Spain in the east. The south of the region is a hot, flat, cereal-producing plain, while the northern part of the border with Spain is more hilly. Half way up the region is the oil producing town of Sines, the flames from its wells dotted around the srrounding landscape.Even this is potentially a fascinaing place for an overnight stay.

Places to visit here include the lovely town of Evora, with its Roman temple and the historic city of Elvas. Beaches in the south are fabulous and unspoilt - great unpopulated cliffs and headlands interspersed with beaches, as the European continent ends abruptly at the Atlantic ocean. Here you can look for miles along the coast and scarcely see a building.

Over the past decade, the Alentejo as become an increasingly popular,cheaper and less crowded alternative to the Algarve for holiday home owners, meaning that there is a reasonable supply of private properties to rent. You should be able to find a traditional country house to let or you can opt for the local hospitality of a bed an breakfast. This is a region of peace and tranquility, so many of the places to stay you will find, particulaly away from the coast, will be rural retreats. There are also some hotels in the region, particularly to the north in resorts such as Troia.