Visit Evora - the capital of Portugal’s Alentejo wine region
The heart of the ancient city of Évora, Alentejo’s capital - source: Winekeller
Discover the heart of Portugal’s Alentejo and spend time in the ancient city of Évora, learn about Alentejo wines and treat yourself to a lunch/stay in a top Portuguese wine hotel and wine tourism destination!
When exploring Portugal’s stunning Alentejo wine region, a great place to start is the ancient city of Évora, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and widely regarded as the jewel in Alentejo’s crown! Considered one of Portugal’s best preserved towns, it’s packed full of history, ancient sites, fascinating architecture - and of course wines! If you want to discover Alentejo, visiting Évora just has to be on your list!
Whilst you’re there, why not spend a night or two and enjoy a sumptuous meal in a top wine tourism destination and wine hotel?
We spent 2 days in and around Évora recently and are delighted to share our experiences with you so you can plan your own Alentejo discovery tour!
See the video here:
About the ancient city of Évora
The entire ancient city of Évora is classed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site and as such is one of the top tourism and cultural destinations in Portugal. It is the main town in the Alentejo and has a population of about 50,000 people.
Where is Évora Alentejo?
The beautiful landscapes of Alentejo - source: Winekeller
Évora sits in the very heart of Portugal’s Alentejo wine region - right on the border between what is known as Upper and Lower Alentejo. So for its location alone, it is a great place to base yourself in to explore the vast plains, rolling hills and beaches of the beautiful Alentejo - and of course, experience its wines, gastronomy, culture and hospitality!
The ancient city is contained on a hill, within its 4 km long medieval city walls and everything inside the walls is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Évora is quite a small town so it’s easy to walk around and discover the main sites by foot.
Take time (remember the pace of life is slower in the Alentejo!) to wander through the narrow streets, alleys and beautiful squares and admire the lovely white-washed houses with their pretty tiles and balconies and admire the ancient sites and monuments.
It’s easy to find Évora, just 81 mi/130 km away from Lisbon and 62 mi/100 km from Badajoz in Spain. There are regular trains and buses to Évora from Lisbon.
See Évora’s Roman remains
Évora is like a museum - full of ancient buildings and artefacts dating back to Roman times and this is why the whole of the city was classified as a World Heritage Site in 1986.
The Romans occupied Portugal for more than 700 years and Évora is one of the best places to visit to see the evidence of their presence here. The most famous site in Évora - and in the Alentejo - and the best-preserved Roman building in Portugal is the ‘Templo Romano’ - sometimes called the ‘Temple of Diana’. It is truly a dramatic site with its 14 marble columns standing proud in the centre of the city. Built in the 1st century AD, the temple has had a mixed history, serving as both a bank vault and a butchers in the 14th century! See photos below.
You can also see the remains of the old city walls, which were built by the Romans and replaced 700 years ago.
Explore Évora’s mediaeval history and remains
Évora’s golden age was in the 16th century, when it became the home of the Portuguese kings. Near the Roman temple you can visit the impressive Cathedral of Évora, the largest medieval cathedral in Portugal, a massive Gothic structure dating back from the 12th century.
Try to visit the Igreja da Graça, a beautiful church dating back to the 16th century, as well as the magnificent Igreja de São Francisco which features Gothic and baroque architecture and houses the so-called, skeleton-adorned ‘Chapel of Bones’. The ornate Palácio D. Manuel, built as the royal palace in the 15th century and set in a beautiful park, is also worth seeing.
Another key monument is the ‘Aqueduto da Água de Prata’, a Portuguese National Monument, reflecting the incredible ingenuity required to design and build an aqueduct which provided the people in Evora with water since ancient times.
Spend time in the beautiful ‘Praça do Giraldo’ - an impressive square located in the heart of the city, providing an excellent meeting point, with coffee shops, sidewalk cafés, shops and the tourist information office. On one side is the Church of Santo Antão and the large, marble drinking fountain with 8 spouts, representing the 8 streets that lead here.
Remains of the Megalithic period
The ‘Cromeleque dos Almendres’
Évora is not only known for its Roman remains and medieval architecture, it is also the home of the largest ‘megalith’ In the Iberian peninsula. Megaliths are large stones or boulders that represent the megalithic period, which lasted from 2500 BC to AD 200. Constructed mainly as commemorative memorials or burial sites, these monuments are known to be the earliest surviving man-made structures.
Just 3km outside of Évora, in the direction of Guadalupe you will find the ‘Cromeleque dos Almendres’ - 95 stones, which predate England’s Stonehenge.
Experience Alentejo culture and tradition
Évora has recently been announced as the European Capital of Culture for 2027, so there’s lots to see and do here!
You can visit the Évora Museum to learn all about Évora’s history and traditions and the modern cultural centre, Eugénio de Almeida Foundation. There are several other excellent museums too.
Évora is a university town, which means there are great bars and night-life, but it is a stunning building and you can also visit it. There are lots of small shops in the narrow streets of Évora, selling handicrafts and gifts made from cork, clay and leather, in the typical Alentejan style.
Discover Alentejo wines at the ‘Rota dos Vinhos do Alentejo’ - Alentejo Wine Route
In the centre of Évora, you can visit the Rota dos Vinhos do Alentejo (Alentejo Wine Route) to learn all about Alentejo wines and do some wine tasting! The Rota dos Vinhos do Alentejo aims to promote wine tourism in the region and is also responsible for WASP - the Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Program, which is supported by the majority of wineries in the region and has established itself as a beacon for sustainability initiatives in Portugal.
Évora wine tasting
Évora is at the heart of the wine sub-region of the same name, which is considered to be the birthplace of the region’s most coveted and prestigious wines, in fact by the end of the 19th century it was one of the most prominent wine sub regions in Portugal.
Ask for local Évora wines in restaurants and wine bars, or better still, visit one of the local Evora wineries, Adega Cartuxa, located just 2 km outside of the city walls.
Enjoy the local Alentejo gastronomy
A stay in Évora gives you the perfect opportunity to sample some of the wonderful Alentejo gastronomy, including local dishes from Évora for example, the sausage and cheeses, the lamb stew and ‘pão de rala’, sweet, round breads made with almond dough, filled with egg and a type of squash vegetable. Leave space for the delicious sweet pastries!
Where to stay in Évora
Alentejo offers a huge variety of accommodation, to suit all budgets and preferences - see here for some inspiration.
When we visited we had the opportunity to stay in a fabulous, luxury hotel, just minutes out of the ancient city - read on to discover more!
Convento do Espinheiro Historic Hotel & Spa
The Convento do Espinheiro Hotel & Spa, Evora - source: Winekeller
The origins of the luxury Convento do Espinheiro Hotel & Spa are connected to a legend that tells of an apparition of the Virgin Mary above a thorn-bush (‘espinheiro’ in Portuguese) around the year 1400. In 1412 a chapel was built in honour of the Virgin Mary and given the growing importance of this place as a pilgrimage point, in the year 1458, the church was founded and later the convent, which was populated by monks of the Order of S. Jerónimo.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, the convent was frequently visited by the Portuguese monarchs as well as several foreign monarchs.
Today, after significant restoration, the convent is a luxury hotel set in 8 hectares of beautiful gardens and land, offering modern leisure facilities, but in addition, the opportunity to step back in time and look into Portugal’s history.
Read here about the hotel today and its facilities, but also read up about its long and fascinating history, which you can really feel as you wander through the open spaces and corridors of the old convent.
There are 92 rooms in the hotel and you can choose between a modern room or a restored convent room, or perhaps the Royal Suite!
Dining at the Convento do Espinheiro
There are several different dining options in the hotel including the ‘Olive’ restaurant, offering Italian cuisine and located in the former kitchen of the monks who inhabited the Convent. We had the opportunity to dine in the splendid ‘Divinus’ restaurant, with its stunning vaulted ceiling, where we enjoyed a fabulous dinner of Portuguese and Alentejo traditional dishes, made from the freshest of ingredients and cooked to perfection.
We also spent time in the beautiful Cisterna wine bar, where we tasted some local wines as well as a wonderful sparkling wine made from the hotel’s own vines.
We enjoyed a fabulous night’s stay and dinner at the Convento do Espinheiro and particularly appreciated the peaceful surroundings and the guided tour of the convent and the chapel, which was fascinating. A guided tour and commentary of the Convent of Santa Maria do Espinheiro is offered to all hotel guests every day at 5pm.
How to find Convento do Espinheiro
Address: Convento do Espinheiro, 7005-839 Évora
Experience top wine tourism destination & wine hotel - L’And Vineyards
Approximately 20 minutes drive west of Évora (and 45 minutes from Lisbon airport), just outside the village of Montemor-o-Novo, is a wonderful wine tourism destination we wanted to share with you! You could combine a trip to Évora with a lunch stop here - as we did - or you could stay a few nights, offering the ultimate in relaxation at this luxury, contemporary wine hotel - L’And Vineyards - recognised as one of the top wine hotels in Portugal!
About L’And Vineyards
The stunning L'And Vineyards wine hotel, Montemor-o-Novo, near Evora, Alentejo - source: Winekeller
If you love and appreciate fabulous, modern architecture and design, understated luxury, gastronomic food and wine experiences as well as being in tranquil surroundings and the purest of nature, then this is for you!
We had the opportunity to visit L’And Vineyards - one of Portugal’s best wine tourism destinations and wine hotels, for a wine tasting and lunch, prepared by its Michelin-star chef. We were so excited to have this opportunity - and we weren’t disappointed!
L’And Vineyards is a family run estate in the heart of Portugal’s Alentejo, set in land including a lake and 6 hectares of vineyards. Designed by Portuguese and international architects, the property is part of the collection ‘Small Luxury Hotels of the World’.
Here guests can enjoy a blend of simplistic, modern architecture with nature, staying in one of the fabulous 32 suites and pool villas, set amongst the most amazing landscapes of olive trees, vineyards and oak trees, in the shadow of the imposing Montemor castle on the hill above. As well as the luxury accommodation, Michelin-star restaurant and fine wines, guests can enjoy the wonderful wine therapy spa, combining wine therapeutic properties with traditional spa treatments.
L’And Vineyards wines
L’And Vineyards Alentejo wines - source: Winekeller
We enjoyed a superb wine tasting at L’And Vineyards, 2 whites (one an unfiltered wine) and a red, which we then went on to enjoy, accompanying lunch. L’And Vineyards farms 5 hectares of red grape varieties, including Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Alicante Bouschet and Syrah and 1 hectare of white grapes, predominantly Gouveio.
The Mediterranean soils here very much suit the production of red wines and L’And Vineyards practises organic farming to produce some excellent wines for the consumption of its guests and dining visitors.
Their wines are produced onsite, where they also produce wines for other local grape growers.
Our lunch at L’And Vineyards
The amazing Viajante Restaurant, L'And Vineyards - source: Winekeller
Wow, wow, wow - that sums it up really!!! We had the most glorious lunch here in the Viajante restaurant - a real extravaganza of Portuguese and Alentejo cuisine, cooked and served to perfection and matched with the wonderful L’And Vineyards wines. Every detail is considered to fire up each and every taste bud - it really was an assault on all senses, not just because of the food and the wines, but also the décor and ambience in the amazing restaurant under the fabulous seventies-inspired ceiling lights and the stunning views.
This is a meal I won’t forget in a hurry! The freshest of ingredients - local, seasonal and organic, prepared and served in the most exquisite way. We urge you, if you have the opportunity, to come to L’And Vineyards, you must! The whole experience is just magical - the incredible setting and nature, the superb ambiance and design, the wonderful food and wines and the warm hospitality - we can’t recommend it enough!
How to find L’And Vineyards
Address: Herdade das Valadas, Estrada Nacional 4 apartado 122, 7050-031 Montemor-o-Novo Portugal
Summary and highlights of our tour around Évora Alentejo
We loved our time exploring the ancient city of Évora in the heart of beautiful Alentejo - a wonderful mix of history and tradition along with the best of more modern ‘wine tourism’. This region has such a lot to offer and is so often overlooked because it’s a lesser known Portuguese region. Sure, visit the nearby Algarve region, but make time to take a peek into Alentejo too!
Our lunch at L’And Vineyards was a real highlight, staying in the convent was up there too - and so was seeing the stunning Roman temple in beautiful Évora!
Additional information:
For more information about visiting the Alentejo and Évora, see:
