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MONTEMOR-O-VELHO

The district of Montemor-o-Velho lies within the administrative area of Coimbra, in the centre of Portugal. Covering a total area of 235 Km 2 divided into 14 parishes, the district of Montemor forms part of the Mondego Flats, a region rich in tourist attractions, of great cultural, historic, landscape, sporting and social importance.

The Mondego River flows through the District of Montemor-o-Velho, between the Campos do Mondego ["Fields of the Mondego"]. These vast rice-fields give Montemor-o-Velho a unique and ever-changing landscape, now green, now yellow. The river is also a source of entertainment, leisure activities and sport: Montemor has a Water Sports Centre with one of the best rowing and canoeing courses in Europe.

Other natural resources in Montemor-o-Velho are the Arzila Marshes Nature Reserve, classified as a Special Ornithological Protection Area, and the Quinta do Taipal Marshes, where a wide range of protected wildlife and plant-life can be observed.

Tourist resources are clearly in evidence in a district where the natural landscape harmonises and competes by turns with the monuments. The view over the immense rice-fields, with the imposing Castle and Church of Santa Maria de Alcáçova in the background and the flocks of mallard coming in to settle in the wetlands of the Taipal Marshes, is sheer magic.

Down in the town of Montemor-o-Velho, the main town of the District, you can enjoy a visit to the Church and Cloister of Nossa Senhora dos Anjos [Our Lady of the Angels], classified as a National Monument, the Esther de Carvalho Theatre, the Solar dos Alarcões [a stately home] or the Solar dos Pinas Gate. A walk around Montemor gives you the chance to discover the mediaeval streets outside the walls, surprising you with the elegance of their eighteenth-century houses or the simple, unpretentious homes of their ordinary people.

Vila de Tentúgal boasts historic buildings such as the Church of the Misericórdia , the Mother Church of Nossa Senhora do Mourão [Our Lady of the Stake] or the Clock Tower. But we must not overlook the Carmelite Convent, where the nuns busily practise the art of sugar, spending hours making Tentúgal pastries and cheesecakes. The town of Pereira is another centre for sweet things: we recommend that you try the cheesecakes, barrigas de freira and papos de anjo . Pereira also has a rich cultural heritage, including a group of buildings of interest to visitors such as the Church of the Misericórdia , the Mother Church of St. Stephen or the Duques de Aveiro Granary, now restored and converted into a Cultural Centre for Pereira.

The district has an unforgettable gastronomic tradition; not only the sweets from the Convents at Tentúgal and Pereira, but also regional delicacies such as lampreys, eels or arroz malandro .

So far as cultural activities are concerned, the highlights are the festivals at Vila de Montemor-o-Velho, which take place in September, the CITEMOR, Portugal's greatest and oldest theatrical festival, Mediaeval Montemor - recreating the Middle Ages - and the Rice and Lamprey Festival.

www.cm-montemorvelho.pt/