Alto Alentejo article in The New York Times

Alto Alentejo, Unsung but Not for Long.

There is no shortage of historic sites in Alto Alentejo and one of the most beautiful is Marvão, a walled town that sits on a narrow spit of rock overlooking the rugged plains that reach across into Spain. Marvão is home to perfectly restored, whitewashed houses and a castle built in the ninth century as a Moorish fortification by Ibn Marwan.

Read the full article and copy this link into your browser.


http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/travel/08next.html?pagewanted=1&ref=travel

Guest comment for Casa do Brasão

Another lovely comment about our holiday home near Marvão
http://www.casabrasao.com/
"Dear Dewi & Clare,
Your lovely cottage "Casa do Brasão" was just what we were up to after two weeks of holiday pleasures in Tavira and Lisbon. It gave us all a restful week close to nature.
We enjoyed living in your beautiful designed and decorated home. our feeling of great comfort was most definitely stimulated by the nice restaurants in the neighbouring villages as well as by the great wines of the São Mamede region, And, if possible we would take the stone table together with the three cork oak trees and the sound of the sheep bells home with us.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to explore the Alentejo in combination with the luxury of your holiday home".
Nick, Mal Lieke& Karlyn Bos (NL)

Thank you to Chris and Clarissa for their comment about our holiday home in Marvão

"Had a great few days at Casa do Brasao. Found it very comfortable and wanted for nothing. Locals were very friendly and helpful, and really enjoyed soaking up the whole atmosphere of the area. You have done a wonderful job renovating the cottage and the pool was fantastic.
Would highly recommend your cottage to anyone. Thankyou".

Cheers
Chris and Clarissa.

Our first guests comments about their stay at Casa do Brasão

A big thank you to Marie Davey for the comments about our holiday home near Marvão.

"We had a fantastic holiday. What a wonderful place to stay! We really enjoyed the outside space and the amazing interior. We loved your design features. Really missed the sheep bells clanging last night! It was the perfect get away. Location wonderful and really enjoyed the exploring".

We hope our future guest will enjoy their time as much as our first.

Casa de Férias, Marvão, Alentejo, Portugal

A “Casa do Brasão”, construída em 1856, foi inteiramente restaurada e decorada com toda a elegância e bom gosto.
A Casa do Brasão fica perto de Marvão e do Parque Natural da Serra de S. Mamede,
numa zona de extraordinária beleza.
Uma casa de férias situada na extremidade de uma pequena vila alentejana, com jardim e piscina.
Acomoda 4 a 6 pessoas (2 quartos duplos e um quarto com 2 camas de criança).

Casa do Brasão, cottage near Marvao

A self-catering cottage, Alentejo, Marvão.
The swimming pool and garden is finally finished, and only a few finishing touches left to do.
We hope everyone will enjoy staying here as much as us.
http://www.casabrasao.com/

A walk around Barretos, Marvão

A very short walk near Casa do Brasão cottage, Barretos - about 2.5 km with some great views of the Alentejo countryside and Marvão.
At the end we were invited for a drink of local wine (Conventual) at Terry and Pat's cottage.

Marvão - a collection of different photos from the web

Self-catering cottage Alentejo

THE PLUNGE POOL AND GARDEN PROGRESS FEBURARY 2009
The plunge pool and garden at 'Casa do Brasão' Marvão should be finished by the end of March.
It will be ready to rent for holidays from the 30th of May.

WALKING IN MARVÃO

A great walk in Marvão, Alto Alentejo, Portugal with fantastic panoramic views, wonderful countryside and interesting historical sites.
This walk is 7.38 km and is easy to moderate. The map/guide we bought earlier from the tourist office in Marvão, and the start is from Portagem near the public swimming pool.
The four of us, two adults and two children aged 12 and 14, set off from the 16 century bridge and tower in Portagem. The guide informs you to follow the trail by posts with green markers and we realised after a few kilometres there are none. Instead follow the normal markers of a red and yellow rectangles.
This walk took us about two and a half hours with regular stops to see the sights such as:
The 16 century bridge and tower next to the river Sever.
The mediaeval cobbled road, possibly of Roman origin.
Views of the imposing town and castle of Marvão, the mountain range of Serra de São Mamede and the granite plains of the Alentejo countryside.
The Convent and Church of the Lady of the Star (Igreja do Convento de Nossa Senhora da Estrela).
Typical small Alentejo hamlets.
The 16 century derelict chapel and mediaeval tombs cut into the rock at Fonte Souto.
Oak, Walnut, Olive,Chestnut and Horse-Chestnut trees.
Plenty of farm animals and the wonderful fauna and flora of this region.
At the end of the walk why not have lunch at O Sever restaurant at Portagem for a hearty typical Alentejo lunch washed down with a bottle of Conventual Red wine.
This is a perfect day out in this great region of Portugal.

The start of the plunge pool and garden

We met Franscisco the builder to check on the depth of our plunge pool and the progress of the wall and garden. In the next 2 weeks the structure of the pool and the wall will be finished and then he will be able to start the cobbled terrace and the rustic wooden gates and fencing. He assures me that everything will be finished by Easter.
At home I also have been busy preparing the web site, see:
http://www.casabrasao.com/
When the work is finished I will be taking more photos of the garden and pool to add to the site.
Casa do Brasão a self-catering cootage near Marvão will be ready to rent out for holidays from the 30th of May.