Picked by our team
Towns worth discovering along the Camino de Santiago, chosen by our team. Open one to see its history and sights, and where to stay.
24 towns on the Caminho Português Central do Sul
View on the mapGrândola is the town from the song: after a concert here Zeca Afonso wrote "Grândola, Vila Morena" in 1964, whose beat is made of footsteps on gravel, and at 12.20am on 25 April 1974 it became the signal for the Carnation Revolution. For pilgrims it is the last town before the long stage: 33.8 kilometres to Alcácer do Sal.
Caminho Português Central do SulLoulé is your first evening stop on the Camino de Faro, 23.4 kilometers past the cathedral. The town carries a lot: a church that belonged to the Order of Santiago from 1298, a bell tower on a minaret, and a Madonna that eight men carry at a run up the hill every year. An afternoon is enough; there is no pilgrim hostel.
Caminho Português Central do SulMessejana is a village that was once more: a district seat, a commandery of the Order of Santiago, a place with eleven churches. What remains is four churches, the pillory of 1512, a clock tower and the ruins of a castle. For pilgrims, after 29.2 kilometres of Campo Branco it is a quiet stage town where beds are scarce.
Caminho Português Central do SulRoncão splits the 45.8 kilometres between Santiago do Cacém and Grândola into two manageable days: a tiny hamlet on the N120 with roots in the Order of Santiago, private country accommodation and a restaurant known for its suckling pig. 2.6 kilometres further on, a cross with a scallop shell awaits.
Caminho Português Central do SulAccording to legend, Salir means “out!”, and that is exactly what you do here: beyond the village with its Moorish rammed-earth castle at 256 metres, the Serra do Caldeirão begins. 43.1 kilometres beyond Faro, Salir is the last village in the Barrocal. An afternoon is enough, but the castle museum is open on weekdays only.
Caminho Português Central do SulSalvaterra de Magos was the kings' winter quarters: of the palace where the court hunted until Carnival and opened its own opera house in 1753, a chapel and a falconry with some 305 niches remain. It lies 6.7 kilometres beyond Benavente and 18.7 before the end of the Way, with the fishing village of Escaroupim on the Tejo as a bonus.
Caminho Português Central do SulSamora Correia bears the name of an order master: Paio Peres Correia, Master of the Knights of Santiago. In its parish church azulejos from around 1724 tell the life of the Apostle, the strongest James moment in the Lezíria. A break is enough: after 15.9 kilometres of wet meadows, it's another 10.3 to Benavente.
Caminho Português Central do SulSanta Bárbara de Nexe is the first pilgrimage church on the way: even before there were yellow arrows, people from the surrounding area made their way to a chapel where miracles were said to have happened. 13.3 kilometres beyond Faro stands one of the biggest village churches in the Algarve hinterland. There is no bed here, and Loulé is still 9.3 kilometres away.
Caminho Português Central do SulSanta Cruz is the first village in the Alentejo and has a church far too big for a village: Manueline, built in the circle of the Order of Santiago, with a cross and two scallop shells in the vault. The first stage of the official route guide ends here. There is no shop, and it is still 20 kilometres to Almodôvar.
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