Evora
A beautiful city rich in folklore
Evora Castle - Nuno Calvet
Evora is the major city of the Alentejo region, and has long been admired by tourists for its fine architecture. The historical centre with its arches and arcades, aqueducts and squares, surrounded by mediaevel walls, is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. A beautiful Temple of Diana remains here from Roman times, with delicate pillars made of granite with the bosses and capitals of Estremoz marble. The cathedral standing next to the temple of Diana, dates to 1186.
The Gothic church of St Francisco contains Portugal's most famous chapel of bones, a vaulted chapel lined with the bones and skulls of some 5,000 skeletons. Such bone chapels can be found in other churches around Portugal, the aim being to force the viewer to confront their own mortality so that they will not lead a pointless life of trivial concerns. An inscription displays a poem written in macabre humour, Nos ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos "We bones that are here await yours".
Roman Temple of Diana
João Paulo
West of Evora lies an oval of standing stones that is often described as the Portuguese stonehenge. Believed to have been constructed some four thousand years ago, like Stonehenge, the cromlech of Almendres appears to have been a temple of solar worship, with sunrise and sunset intersecting with the inscribed central stone.
Do not fear that Evora is all pagan temples and sinister chapels of bones however! This area of the Alentejo is lit up with brilliant sunshine that illuminates the beautiful fields of flowers and plants that the region of famed for.
The Alentejo is one of the finest wine producing regions of Portugal, and bottles of very good wine can be purchased very cheaply here. Its closeness to Lisbon and its varied delights makes Evora a very pleasant day out for any tourist staying in the capital.
Hotels in Evora
Enter Portugal works in partnership with Hotel Club and Opodo, two of the largest and most respected online hotel reservation services. This allows us to provide a wide range of accommodation in Portugal, from discount hotels to stately pousadas, all of which can be booked online with full security.
We are constantly adding new accomodations to these pages, and we aim to provide the largest database of available hotels and pousadas in Portugal. Many of these hotels and pousadas offer specially reduced rates for internet bookings.
All Orders Are Processed On A 100% Secure Server.