Campo Maior

 🌸 Campo Maior – where the flowers were blooming and so were we… despite the heat! 🌸

Because apparently we hadn’t quite had enough of the Madrid heat 🥵, we thought the sensible thing to do was head to Campo Maior for… MORE HEAT! 😂🔥

But honestly, it was worth every sweaty step! Every single street was absolutely beautifully decorated, with colourful paper flowers, arches and canopies everywhere you looked. It felt like walking through a giant, very cheerful flower garden — except this one was made entirely by the people of Campo Maior. 🌺🌼🌸

The tradition of the Festas do Povo / Festa das Flores is pretty special. The residents of the town come together to make thousands upon thousands of paper flowers and decorate more than 100 streets. It’s such a unique community effort that the festival has been recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage. 

And Campo Maior has plenty of history behind all those pretty flowers too. Its name dates back to Roman times, when it was known as Campus Maior, and its position close to the Spanish border made it an important defensive stronghold. The castle dates back to medieval times, with later fortifications added in the 17th century. 

The town has also had its fair share of drama — in 1732, a devastating explosion in the fortress’s gunpowder magazine destroyed around two-thirds of the medieval town. Campo Maior rebuilt itself, and today you can still see some of that fascinating history in its churches, fortress and famous Capela dos Ossos. 

But naturally, after all that culture, history, walking and sweating, we had to concentrate on the really important business…

🥪 THE FOOD! 🥪

And oh my goodness… we found ourselves the most delicious Serra da Estrela and presunto sandwich. Creamy, salty, gooey, glorious… basically everything a tired traveller needs after wandering around in the Alentejo sunshine! 🤤

So today's verdict:

🌸 Flowers – spectacular

🏰 History – fascinating

☀️ Heat – absolutely unnecessary 😂

🚶‍♀️ Walking – plenty!

💧 Hydration – obviously essential

🥪 Serra da Estrela + presunto – 10/10, would sweat for again!

Another fabulous day, another beautiful Portuguese town explored, and another reminder that apparently we don't know how to choose holidays that involve cool weather! 😂❤️

Campo Maior, you were colourful, charming, historic and delicious — and we loved you! 🌸🇵🇹