Culture

If you are looking for culture the area has, especially in summer season, plenty to offer. Each village (Troviscais too) has its ‘festa’, mostly a procession followed by a ‘baila’, traditional live Portuguese music at which everybody dances, often till very late.
The town of Sines has a worldmusic festival every summer, and Odemira organises open air jazz-evenings.  



The inland offers several historical sites, such as the Roman excavations at Mirobriga, on a steep hillside just north of the pretty, unspoilt town of Santiago do Cacem. 

A 2 hour drive takes you to historical Evora, but to be honest it is a waste to do this on one day. There is so much to see and do, and especially in the heat of the summer you don’t want to do too much on one day. 

The village of Sao Teotonio (at 25 km) hosts the largest agriculture and cattle exhibition of Portugal, called the Faceco, every year in july.  When cattle-diseases don’t spoil it, as they did in 2008, this is something worth going to. With inspections, games, exhibitions of handicrafts and music at night.

In the first week of august the medieval festival in Silves is not to be missed. 

If you like shopping, than it is best to go to the Algarve. Coastal towns like Zambujeira do Mar, Vila Nova de Milfontes and Porto Covo have some nice little shops, but for the real shopping you have to go to towns like Lagos and Albufeira. For nice souvenirs you don’t have to go that far. We like to help you with good addresses.