Évora is a small town in the Alentejo area. Its historic center has been declared a World Heritage by UNESCO. The walled center is composed of a multitude of narrow streets among which it is not difficult to get lost and miss some of the best spots of the city.
In this article, we will see the best things to do in Évora.
Where is Évora and why can't you miss it?
Évora is located halfway between Lisbon and Spain, making it the ideal place to make a stop, if you are traveling in one direction or the other.
A little bit of history
Évora is a city with a very rich history. In it, we can find the presence of monuments as old as from the Neolithic. The Romans also ruled the city for many years. Subsequently, Évora passed into Visigoth and Arab hands, to be recovered by Christian troops in the twelfth century.
The city prospered and became the second most important city of the Portuguese kingdom during the sixteenth century. However, the closure of its University irretrievably eroded the city importance during the following centuries.
What to do on our visit to Évora?
Most of what we are going to see can be visited in a day without problems, even in half a day. However, as I like to take it easy, I recommend that you take your time and enjoy the atmosphere of the city:
Água de Prata Aqueduct
The Évora aqueduct, also known as the Água de Prata Aqueduct (Silver Water Aqueduct), is a water canal that extends for almost 9 kilometers and runs through several areas of the city’s historic center. The aqueduct dates from the sixteenth century and is preserved in perfect condition, as can be seen in the photograph.
The best place to appreciate the beauty of this construction is near Porta da Lagoa in the northern part of the city, near a car park we’ll see below.
The Roman Temple of Evora
From the Roman period, the most representative building is the ruins of the Roman temple.
This is a temple from the first-century corresponding to the first period of Roman occupation. It is located in the Plaza Conde Vila Flor, in the heart of the city (view location on Google Maps). The temple is not preserved as a whole, just a series of columns, but it is enough to get an idea of what the original building would look like.
As a curiosity, the temple was used as a municipal slaughterhouse until 1871, when the temple was first restored.
San Francisco Church
The Church of San Francisco is a Manueline Gothic temple that was built at the beginning of the 16th century (view location in Google Maps). Although a good part of the altarpieces of the side chapels corresponds to later times.
La Capela dos Ossos
The Chapel of the Bones of Évora (as well as the one in of Faro) is perhaps the most visited place of the city (view location on Google Maps). This small and discreet chapel, located on the side of the aforementioned church, is the place where hundreds of skeletons, exhumed from the cemeteries of the city during the 16th century, rest. In the entrance to the chapel, it can be read: “Nós ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos” which means “We, the bones that we are here, for yours we are waiting”.
The chapel is open every day from 09:00 to 12:50 in the morning and from 14:30 to 17:45h (17:15h in winter) in the afternoon and the entrance fee is 4 € for adults. The entrance to Capella dos Ossos also includes a visit to a small museum with antiques and relics of the city. Below is a picture of the museum that made me smile because it reminded me of Cantinflas…
Évora Cathedral
The cathedral of Santa María is the most important medieval temple in Évora. It has the appearance of a fortress, like many Portuguese cathedrals. The construction began at the beginning of the 14th century. Dedicated to Santa María, it’s famous for its Gothic dome, the beautifully sculpted portico and the cloister.
The Crómlech of the Almonds
About 15 km from Évora (location on Google Maps) is one of the most important megalithic monuments in the world, the “Cromeleque dos Almendres”. In fact, they are as important as the very famous Stonehenge cromlech.
The megaliths aren’t together. You will have to park your car and walk along a small path made just to get to it. First, you will see a huge megalith of about 4 meters. Another kilometer away (better to go by car) you will see the big set. They are like 90 menhirs.
Eating and Sleeping in Évora
We stay in a low-cost hotel (the Moov Hotel Évora). It doesn’t have great charm, but it’s inside the walls and it was at a good price. The truth is that everything was right, it was clean and they even had parking (send them a message or call them to include it in the reservation).
As for meals, I recommend that you go well in advance to lunch or dinner, because there are not too many restaurants and they tend to fill up early.
We looked at 2 restaurants that were already full around 20:30h. In the end, we ended up dining in a charming restaurant that does not appear between the firsts positions in TripAdvisor or Google Reviews, but that turned out to be a huge success, the Chao Das Covas Cafe (view location on Google Maps).
We enjoyed a delicious homemade dinner that cost us 21 € for two people. It also has a small terrace that overlooks a practically deserted square. A magical setting.
For breakfast, I recommend you to visit Fabrica dos Pasteis (view location on Google Maps). There you can enjoy the best cream cakes in the city (and maybe in Portugal).
Where to park in Évora?
Parking in the old town (within the walls) is regulated by parking meters. So it is necessary to pay to park in the central hours of the day between weekdays.
However, as the city is very small you can also park your car outside the wall (free of charge) and walk through the alleys without any problem. Here is the location of a large car park just north of the wall (view location on Google Maps) and here is an open space where you can park your car on the west side of the wall (view location on Google Maps).