Must see attractions in Évora

Once part of the Roman Forum, the remains of this temple, dating from the 2nd or early 3rd century AD, are a heady slice of drama right in town. It's…

One of Évora’s most popular sights is also one of its most chilling. The walls and columns of this mesmerising memento mori (reminder of death) are lined…

Set within a beautiful landscape of olive and cork trees stands this huge, spectacular oval of standing stones, 15km west of Évora. It is the Iberian…

The Great Dolmen of Zambujeiro, 13km southwest of Évora, is Europe’s largest dolmen. Under a huge sheet-metal protective shelter in a field of wildflowers…

Guarded by a pair of rose granite towers, Évora’s fortress-like medieval cathedral has fabulous cloisters and a museum jam-packed with ecclesiastical…

Around 27km west of Èvora, the Escoural Caves contain several cave paintings and rock carvings that date back more than 13,000 years. One-hour guided…

The former Convento dos Lóios, to the right of Igreja de São João, has elegant Gothic cloisters topped by a Renaissance gallery. A national monument, the…

The small, fabulous Igreja de São João, which faces the Templo Romano, was founded in 1485 by one Rodrigo Afonso de Melo, count of Olivença and the first…

Jutting into the town from the northwest is the beguilingly named Aqueduto da Água de Prata, designed by Francisco de Arruda (better known for Lisbon’s…

The city’s main square has seen some potent moments in Portuguese history, including the 1483 execution of Fernando, Duke of Bragança; the public burning…

Adjacent to the cathedral, in what used to be the archbishop’s palace (built in the 16th century), is this elegant museum. The cloistered courtyard…

For a lovely tranquil stroll, head to the light-dappled public gardens (with a small outdoor cafe) south of the Igreja de São Francisco. Inside the walls…

Just northwest of the Igreja de São João is the 17th-century facade of a much older palace and castle, as revealed by the two powerful square towers that…

The artist Tiago Cabeça has created this wondrous miniature world of Portugal moulded in clay and peopled with humorous and irreverent characters. You'll…

The Moura Gate Sq stands just southeast of the cathedral. Near here was the original entrance to town. In the middle of the square is a strange-looking,…

If you're headed out to Cromeleque dos Almendres, it's worth stopping en route at the Menir dos Almendres, a single stone nearly 4m high, with some faint…

Just outside the walls to the northeast is the university’s main building (Colégio do Espírito Santo), a descendent (reopened in 1973) of the original…

Évora’s best-known church is a tall and huge Manueline-Gothic structure, completed around 1510 and dedicated to St Francis. Legend has it that the…

Painted on the garden walls of an open-vaulted gallery are a series of unusual 16th-century murals that were once part of a noble’s residence. Recently…

In a building that once housed the Holy Office of Inquisition, this centre of arts and culture hosts some of Évora’s most thought-provoking art…