A timeless sentinel of medieval grandeur
Admiring the well-preserved medieval architecture and panoramic views stretching across the rolling hills and vineyards below
Monseraz Castle is situated majestically atop a hill overlooking the Alentejo countryside in Portugal. Dating back to the 12th century, it is known for the amazing stone walls and sturdy towers.
We arrived in the late afternoon and checked into our room. After dropping our bags we went out to see the castle walls, but couldn’t find them. It turned out that everything in the area is named Monseraz this or that. So driving out into the countryside we saw a white hilltop fortress in the distance that turned out to be the castle. We were staying in the town of Monseraz.
We drove to the top, parked, and walked through the gates to see what we could before it got dark. I loved the stark contrast of the growing shadows, and the view out over the valley. Taking the narrow road back down from the castle I saw a stone circle in a meadow, so we stopped and walked around that as well. Next day we went back for a more thorough self-guided tour of the castle as well as the stone circle.
I drew this sketch with pen and ink. Later I scanned it and added the color treatment in Photoshop.
Adding color in Photoshop
The original sketch
SketchTravel
Thanks for reading this post. Please follow me at 
and comment below.
and comment below.