After the Maratón de Badajoz: Évora
The Route: Badajoz → Évora → Lisbon Oriente → Lisbon Airport (LIS) Logistics: Bus from Badajoz to Évora, about 1 hour 15 minutes. CP train from Évora to Lisbon Oriente the next day, about 1 hour 30 minutes, then metro to the airport. Marathon Month: March Duration: 1 night
Badajoz ──(1 hr 15 mins bus)──> Évora ──(1 hr 30 mins CP train)──> Lisbon Oriente
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Lisbon Airport (LIS) ◄──(metro)───────┘
Many runners at the Maratón de Badajoz fly home from Lisbon, and Évora sits almost exactly halfway. One night here turns a long transfer into a short trip with an evening in one of Portugal's best-preserved walled towns. The historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
March in Évora is early spring in the Alentejo. Days are mild, often in the high teens, and evenings are cool enough for a jacket. Rain is possible. It is well before the summer heat for which the Alentejo is known, and the town is quieter than at Easter.
Buses run from the Badajoz bus station on Calle José Rebollo López to Évora's bus terminal on the west side of the old town. Several companies share the route, including ALSA, FlixBus and Rede Expressos, with about four departures a day between them and a journey of about 1 hour 15 minutes. Book online a few days ahead. Remember that Portugal is one hour behind Spain.
Night One: Évora
The old town is enclosed by walls, with the Roman temple, the cathedral and the main square all within a ten-minute walk of each other. The streets are cobbled and the centre rises gently to the temple at its highest point. Nothing is steep, but the stones are uneven, so walk slowly and wear cushioned shoes.
The Templo Romano, a row of granite columns on a raised platform, stands in an open square with views over the plain. It is free to see from outside. Next to it, the cathedral (Sé de Évora) is a fortress-like Gothic church. The walk along its roof is its most memorable part, but it involves narrow stairs, so judge your legs first.
The Capela dos Ossos, the Chapel of Bones inside the Igreja de São Francisco, is lined with the bones and skulls of thousands of the town's dead, with an inscription over the door reminding visitors that they will join them. It is at ground level near the bottom of the town and takes 20 minutes. Buy tickets at the church.
Praça do Giraldo, the arcaded main square, is the place to sit in the late afternoon. It is flat and surrounded by cafés.
Where to stay. The Pousada Convento de Évora occupies a fifteenth-century convent beside the Roman temple, with rooms around the old cloister. It is the obvious splurge, in the quietest part of the centre. M'AR De AR Aqueduto, a contemporary hotel in a converted palace next to the aqueduct on the north side of the old town, is a more modern alternative a short walk from the square.
Where to eat. Alentejo cooking is heavy on pork, bread and olive oil. Look for carne de porco à alentejana (pork with clams), açorda and migas on menus around Praça do Giraldo and the streets north of it. Portions are generous, which suits a runner still eating for the day before. Book at weekends.
Getting to Lisbon Airport (LIS)
CP trains run from Évora station, a 15-minute walk or a short taxi ride south of the old town, to Lisbon Oriente in about 1 hour 30 minutes. There are about five services a day on weekdays and three at weekends, with a second-class fare of about €14. From Oriente, take the red metro line three stops to Aeroporto, about 15 minutes. Allow at least three hours between the train leaving Évora and your flight. If the train times do not fit, express buses run from Évora to Lisbon's Oriente and Sete Rios stations throughout the day.