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Drive from Salema to Salamanca, Spain Anyone with info on Evora, Portugal?

Planning to spend a night in Evora, Portugal. I have a small write up from Rick Steves "Spain and Portugal in 22 Days" book from 1987 onEvora. Doesn't really matter, as I don't like driving 6 and 1/2 hours in one day, so we're going to split it up and browse Evora for the afternoon and spend the night before going on to Salamanca for Easter Sunday.

Just curious if anyone has spent the night there recently and had anything to share?

( I did read through several other posts on the Portugal thread, and found some helpful notes regarding Evora. Am always up for more.)

Posted by
9110 posts

There's nothing wrong with Evora, especially later in the day after the tour buses leave. But the puzzle is why they even go there.

Good job on picking the southern route instead of going up by Castelo Branco. I think that if you'd press on a bit further to Elvas you'd really like it more and it'd come a tad closer to splitting the time more evenly.

Posted by
1 posts

Evora was an unexpected stop on our rather spontaneously planned Portugal trip. My cousin talked me into it, vaguely recalling her own journey there many, many years before.

While it's not very large, the town has interesting sites and a relaxed ambience. Things to see: the Roman ruins (Temple of Diana), the old medieval cathedral (largest in the country), the Palace of Vila Vicosa with its cortile, adjoining family chapel (you can peer into the crypt under the floor filled with bones) and royal family residence (still partially occupied by the family). The Roman wall and aqueduct snake through town, with arches infilled by homes, shops, restaurants, private courtyards, and sundry other uses. Some of the arches are so low, only cats and dogs can scoot under them, as the wall eventually almost completely buried in the ground.

The food is delicious and we loved those meringue cookies "nuvens escondidas" (hidden clouds), freshly made every day at a restaurant on the main plaza. The people are quite welcoming...not to mention the town government: you can surf the internet at will using the free wi-fi outside the City Hall. Then walk across the small plaza to the quaint and beautifully tiled chapel.

Even more to see...which we didn't have time to visit on our short stayover...and the town's central plaza is a great place to hang out in the early evening as the old men gather around the fountain to swap stories.