Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Café Águias D'ouro
OFFLINE MAP
( 268 339 100; Rossio do Marquês de Pombal)
This stunning cafe - built in art-nouveau style
between 1908 and 1909 - is worth seeing for both the interior and exterior. At the start of
the 20th century it was where the local
intelligencia
gathered to share ideas and local gos-
sip.
HISTORIC BUILDING
Upper Town
The upper town is surrounded by dramatic zigzagging ramparts and contains a gleaming
white palace. The easiest way to reach it on foot is to follow narrow Rua da Frandina from
Praça Luís de Camões and pass the inner castle walls through the Arco da Frandina.
Museu Municipal
OFFLINE MAP
( 268 339 219; Largo D Dinis; adult €1.55; 9am-12.30pm & 2-5.30pm Tue-Sun)
This museum is
housed in a beautiful 17th-century almshouse near the former palace. Pretty hand-painted
furniture sits alongside endearing, locally carved wooden figures (charming rural scenes
by Joaquim Velhinho) and a collection of typical 19th-century domestic Alentejan items.
On the ground floor is an amazing display of the unique Estremoz pottery figurines -
some 500 pieces covering 200 years, including lots of ladies with carnivalesque outfits,
explosively floral headdresses (Primavera) and wind-rippled dresses. There's even an en-
tire 19th-century Easter Parade.
MUSEUM
Royal Palace &
Torre das Três Coroas
At the top of the upper town is the stark, glowing-white, fortress-like former royal palace,
now the Pousada de Santa Rainha Isabel. Dom Dinis built the palace in the 13th century
for his new wife, Isabel of Aragon.
After her death in 1336 (Dinis had died 11 years earlier) it was used as an ammunition
dump. An inevitable explosion, in 1698, destroyed most of the palace and the surrounding
castle, though in the 18th century João V restored the palace for use as an armoury. The
27m-high keep, the Torre das Três Coroas (Tower of the Three Crowns), survived and is
still the dominant feature. It's so called because it was apparently built by three kings:
Sancho II, Afonso III and Dinis.
PALACE
