São Brás de Alportel Travel Guide

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Located just to the east of the town’s main church, this building used to be the bishop’s palace. Built in the 17th/18th centuries for the bishops of Algarve as a place to escape the summer heat, this building underwent several modifications in the 19th and 20th centuries which have altered its structure. What remains of the original palace today is part of the main building and, almost opposite it, a baroque vaulted fountain with eight spouts.

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Towards the end of the 19th century, a wealthy cork merchant built this impressive mansion when the town was undeveloped and populated by little more than half a dozen narrow lanes with modest homes. By the beginning of the 20th century the cork industry had prospered so much that S. Brás de Alportel was transformed into one of the biggest cork centres of the world, with about 60 plants processing cork. Not only does the museum focus on the cork industry with many rural exhibits such as traditional carts, tools, a video presentation (in Portuguese) on cork production plus information and photos but it also has an ethnographic area inside the house which exhibits Algarvian costumes, textiles and everyday objects as well as a recreated kitchen. Well worth visiting if you’re in town.

Open: 10am-1pm & 2-5pm Mon-Fri, 2-5pm weekends. Admission: €2

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Located on the main road that leads west from the town centre, this small chapel was originally built at the end of the 17th century, but during the 19th century it was demolished and rebuilt a little distance away due to changes in the layout of the village. Luckily it was open when I visited so I could take some photos from inside.

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Located on the far southern side of the town, this church was built on the site of a church that probably dated back to the 15th century, but the current structure was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1755. It was extended considerably in the 19th century. The interior, which was closed when I visited, features a chapel of Senhor dos Passos (Lord of the Stations of the Cross) containing gilded carvings in the taste of the second half of the 18th century plus there are paintings from the 17th century depicting saints.