Being situated north of Aljezur and just before you come to the Alentejo, you can reach Odeceixe via the EN120. The main road towards the town is set on a sharp bend that will give you a view of the town and you’ll be able to see its still-working windmill on top of the hill. You can actually drive up to the top of the windmill and while on that road you will see one of the town’s churches. The windmill is an important characteristic of the town, being featured on the Odeceixe coat of arms.

The town has lots of things to offer its visitors, from the traditional cobbled streets of the region to a small square at the centre of it featuring a stone water fountain adding to the overall charm of the place. The square has a bunch of public benches surrounded by planters filled with flowers, so they make for a very relaxing resting spot. A bit unexpectedly for such a rather small town, there are somewhere around a dozen or so restaurants and bars featuring inside seating as well as having small terraces set upon the cobbled pavements.

The buildings are a blend of styles and building periods, with the occasional merchant’s house featuring tiled fronts and cast iron and stone balconies.

Those who self-cater will find plenty of shops for their grocery shopping as well as lots of gift shops offering hand-made items to take back to those waiting for you at home.

With such a large number of bars and restaurants, one can expect the nightlife to be rather solid, with the bars holding all sorts of music events during the nights, live and otherwise.

At a short distance from the centre, you’ll find the golden sand beach, easily accesible by foot or with a rental car.

Moncarapacho is located in the Olhao district and has only relatively recently gained city status, back in 1985.

It is set in a deeply agricultural area and well worth the journey because, a bit unexpectedly, it’s home to a museum – Museu Paroquial – that features a pretty solid display of artefacts from all time periods in the region. Outside the museum building, in the courtyard, you can see a collection of Roman pillars, carved marble finials and pre-Roman stone drinking troughts, great examples of Roman-time life.

It’s a bit weird to see such an impressive collection of artefacts in a small farming village, but most of the items were indeed found thanks to the farming activities, having been disturbed from the ground when planting crops and trees, so that explains it.

Since this is an agricultural area, there’s a large market festival held here in August, which is attended by locals from many surrounding villages celebrating their crops and partying with live music, food and wine well into the small hours. Obviously it is not exclusively for locals, all being welcomed to join in the fun.

Those of you who will be visiting will notice some unusual architecture in town, with the occasional Moorish façade here and there and the elaborate stone carved doorway of the main church – which dates back to the 18^th century.

Nearly all the streets and pavements are done with the traditional cobbled stone, giving the town the particular Algarvian charm, alongside the typical Algarve one-story houses, featuring highly decorative parapet walls and rather grand chimneys.

The main square of Moncarapacho is planted with palms and trees and there are the ever-present cafes and bars here to enjoy.

If you’re traveling around the region with a car rental then make sure to stop in Moncarapacho for a bit.