Exploring the Alentejo UNESCO World Heritage Site

Explore Évora: UNESCO heritage, rich history, stunning architecture and vibrant culture.
You will discover the jewels of Alentejo, the city of Évora. The medieval streets and admiring the majestic Cathedral of Évora, the Roman Temple and the shocking Chapel of the Bones, a unique and fascinating place.
Lunch in the fascinating guesthouse of the convent.
This tour is a deep immersion into the culture and history of Alentejo, offering an unforgettable experience that unites the past and present in a harmonious way. Come and discover the beauty and legacy of Évora.

Travel from the Lisbon region (visitor accommodation) to Evóra, in a comfortable and spacious vehicle, a 9-seater Mercedes Vito.

The Walls of Évora are one of the city’s delights and have the power to transport us to times immemorial. They have been classified as a national monument since 1922 and are an integral part of the Historic Centre of Évora, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Évora is one of the few cities in Portugal that has preserved its ancient walls almost untouched over time. It was D. Afonso IV of Portugal who ordered the construction of the Walls of Évora in the 14th century.

As a whole, the enclosure consists of the towers and sections of the wall that mark the limits of the medieval city. We have, then, the Towers of Rampa dos Colegiais, the Bastion of São Bartolomeu, the Public Garden of Évora, the Portas de Aviz, those located near the Convento do Calvário, and between the Bastion of the Count of Lippe and the Cavalry Barracks.

The Walls of Évora, also known as the Roman fence, constitute a defensive complex of military architecture, which was built over centuries.

The Chapel of Bones was built in the 17th century on the initiative of three Franciscan friars whose aim was to convey the message of the transience and fragility of human life. This message is clearly conveyed through the inscription: “We bones who are here, await yours”. It basically shows the macabre taste of Baroque man for necrophilia.
The Chapel of Bones, full of skulls and other bones, is made up of three naves measuring approximately 18.70m long and 11m wide. Natural light strategically enters these naves only through three small gaps on the left side. It is a very dark place! Be brave…

The walls of the Chapel of Bones and the eight pillars that make it up are covered with carefully arranged human bones and skulls, joined together with brown cement. The vaults are made of white plastered brick and painted with motifs that symbolise or allude to death.

The Aqueduto da Água de Prata in Évora is, due to its size, one of the most obvious and impressive monuments in the city. It reminds us of the ingenuity that was needed to provide water to all the people of Évora since ancient times. For this and other reasons, it has been a National Monument since 1910.
The construction of the Aqueduto da Água de Prata was started by order of D. João III in 1532. Under the direction of the royal architect Francisco de Arruda, 18km of aqueduct was built from Herdade do Divor, where it would supply water, to the centre of Évora.
The Renaissance-style granite pipes and arches were most likely built on the old Roman aqueduct. Completed in 1537, the Aqueduto da Água de Prata was inaugurated in the presence of the king and the court, in Praça do Giraldo, where a fountain was built in Praça do Giraldo.

The Roman Temple of Évora is one of the grandest and best preserved Roman temples in the entire Iberian Peninsula, having been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. It is the city’s symbol, a kind of calling card. It is one of the most important historical landmarks in Évora, and is also one of the most visible symbols of the Roman occupation of the city. Built in the Corinthian style, the Roman temple was built at the beginning of the 1st century AD. Even today, this construction, which is around 2,000 years old, is known as the Temple of Diana. The confusion is due to a legend created in the 17th century that associated the construction of the “Temple of Diana” in Évora in honour of the Roman goddess of hunting. In fact, the Roman Temple of Évora was built to pay homage to Emperor Augustus, who was venerated as a god, and was part of what would later become the Roman forum. It was modified in the two centuries that followed (2nd and 3rd centuries AD) and partially destroyed in the 5th century, during the invasion of barbarian peoples.

The Cathedral of Évora or Sé de Évora, its real name is Basílica Sé de Nossa Senhora da Assunção. It is the largest medieval cathedral in Portugal and has no parallel in the rest of the country.

The Sé de Évora “protects” the city from its highest point, the chosen location for other iconic buildings in Évora such as the Roman Temple of Évora (Temple of Diana), the Évora Museum or the Eugénio de Almeida Art and Culture Centre.

The Cathedral of Évora, whose construction began in 1186 and was consecrated in 1204, was only completed in 1250. It is a fascinating and imposing monument. Made entirely of granite, it is marked by the transition from the Romanesque to the Gothic style.

It was improved during the 15th and 16th centuries, with the upper choir, the pulpit, the baptistery and the arch of the Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Piedade or Capela do Esporão (1529) all from this period. This chapel in the Évora Cathedral is an unusual example of hybrid Plateresque architecture.

It is, par excellence, the “example” of the Portuguese historic centre, with visible repercussions in most of the overseas territory. Évora owes its relevance to a thousand-year-old history that goes back to Prehistory. But history took over, making it one of the most notable Roman cities in Lusitania – Ebora Liberalitas Júlia – of which numerous remains remain, notably the Roman Temple.

It then became one of the great urban centres in the south of the Portuguese kingdom, a constant place of visit and stay for monarchs. It saw the birth and development of the first brilliant features of Gothic architecture, combined with the heritage (and the search for emulation) of the “Moorish” or Arab world in the so-called “Mudejar style”, during the 15th and 16th centuries. It later received the influence of humanism and it is here that some of the first great architectural works of the Iberian Renaissance appeared, around 1530.

Built on the remains of a medieval castle, the convent is an excellent example of the late Gothic architecture of Alentejo.
Here you will find the Pousada do Convento restaurant, where you can enjoy a delicious regional lunch.

Travel from Evóra to the Lisbon region (visitor accommodation), in a comfortable and spacious vehicle, a 9-seater Mercedes Vito.

• Service animals allowed
• Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels

• Exploring the Alentejo UNESCO World Heritage Site
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  Pickup included

• Visitors’ personal expenses

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• This Tour is Provided by The Guru Guide.
• Tour Timezone & Starts at Europe/Lisbon.
• Mobile or paper ticket accepted.
• For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
• Minimum 1 Travelers is required to book.
• Maximum 15 Travelers is accepted for booking.