In the heart of Évora, Portugal, a UNESCO World Heritage city full of ancient stones and Roman ruins, there’s a house that celebrates something a bit softer: cork.
At Casa do Montado, you won’t just learn that cork comes from trees. You’ll trace their history back to the Ice Age, and discover why this humble material is one of Portugal’s most precious resources. Spoiler alert: it’s not just for sealing your wine bottles.
Housed in a beautiful 19th-century building, this museum offers seven rooms packed with quirky facts about the Montado — a unique Mediterranean ecosystem where cork oaks thrive alongside wild boars, lynxes, and ancient farming traditions. You’ll see how cork is harvested (without cutting down a single tree), how it’s boiled, sorted, and transformed into everything from stoppers to soundproofing.
There’s even a xylotheque, a kind of library of wood, where you can feel just how heavy some of these trees are.
Come for the cork, stay for the surprisingly rich story of humans living in balance with nature. And yes, after visiting, you’ll never look at a wine cork the same way again.
The place is humble and welcoming — perfect for a visit to understand why there are so many cork products in Portugal’s shop windows.
