Santo Andre (Historic Center)

Nearly all of the sights to be seen in Estremoz are located inside the Medieval-era city walls in the historic center, known locally as Santo Andre. Estremoz Castle, Museu Municipal Professor Joaquim Vermelho, the Pelourinho de Estremoz, Lago do Gadanha, Igreja de Sao Francisco, Convento dos Maltesas, and Rossio Marques de Pombal are just a few of the attractions that are located in the Santo Andre section of town.

Since the historic center caters heavily to tourists, very few people actually live inside the walls: only about 2,500 people, a sixth of Estremoz Parish`s population. Many people in the area live outside the old city and commute to work every day. Tourists will be happy to find many restaurants, cafes, shops and hotels (usually in the form of old Portuguese castles and palaces called pousadas) located in this portion of Estremoz.

Santa Maria (including Mendeiros and Monte Pistola)

Santa Maria is considered the `new city`, as in the neighborhood comprises all of Estremoz City that isn`t situated inside the Medieval-era city walls. Among other sights, the Capela de Nossa Senhora dos Martires and the area`s namesake church are located here.

Directly to the north of the city walls in Santa Maria is an area locals refer to as `Mendeiros`. It is largely a residential area, with a business park located at the northern tip of town, at the end of the Rua Machado dos Santos.

East and south of the city walls, locals refer to this portion of Estremoz City as `Monte Pistola`. Monte Pistola is by and large an industrial area of town, with a couple of hypermarkets sprinkled in, accounting for the majority of the area`s light commercial scene. The bus and former train station are located in Monte Pistola as well.

Towns and Villages of Estremoz Parish

Noteworthy villages in Estremoz Parish include Santa Vitoria do Ameixial, Sao Bento do Ameixial and Evora Monte to the west of Estremoz city; Canal, Gloria and Arcos to the south and east of Estremoz city; and Veiros, Sao Bento do Cortico, Santo Estevao, Sao Lourenco de Monporcao, and Sao Domingos de Ana Loura to the north and northeast.

All of the villages are very beautiful, and most of them are small with simple layouts (usually with a road passing through the village serving as the village `main street`). Some, like Santa Vitoria do Ameixial, only feature one stop light on their main street, while others, like Sao Bento do Ameixial, don`t have a stop light at all. Then there are others, like Gloria, which are very rural and have few structures, despite claiming a village population of hundreds in the last census!

Many residences and commercial buildings are painted a tranquil blue and white. Of the villages in Estremoz Parish, Veiros, with a population of just over 1,000, is the largest, with all the amenities any other sizable town in Portugal would offer. Sao Lourenco de Monporcao, with fewer than 600 residents, is still a sizable village with a corner shop, restaurants and a few streets of houses and apartments.