The CP Intercidades service from Lisboa Oriente to Évora takes approximately 1 hour 35 minutes, heading southeast across the Tagus plain and into the Alentejo. Several services run daily; check timetables and book at cp.pt in advance. The train also stops at Entrecampos and Roma-Areeiro on its way out of Lisbon, which may be more convenient depending on where you are staying. Note: Sete Rios is a bus terminal, not a train station - trains to Évora do not use it.
December in the Alentejo: The days are mild (12--15°C), the nights cold (dropping close to freezing on the open plain), and the light on the cork oaks and the white villages is the low winter variety. Évora in December is quiet and specific. The city has been inhabited for at least two thousand years, has a population of around 56,000, and does not noticeably reconfigure itself for tourists at any time of year.
Day One: The Praça do Giraldo
Évora's historic centre is contained within Roman and medieval walls. The main public space is the Praça do Giraldo - a wide rectangular square with a 16th-century marble fountain at its centre and a continuous arcade of Gothic arches along the northern side. The square is paved in the calçada portuguesa style of white marble chips and is flat throughout. In December it has a modest Christmas market along the arcades.
The streets radiating from the Praça do Giraldo are narrow, paved in marble, and substantially flat in the centre of the old town. The core is walkable without significant gradient change.
Day Two: Roman Temple and the Chapel of Bones
The Templo Romano stands on a raised platform above the Praça do Giraldo - 14 Corinthian columns of Estremoz marble in remarkable preservation for a building completed in the 1st or 2nd century AD. It survived because it was built inside a medieval fortress and later a slaughterhouse. The surrounding terrace is flat and gives views over the city rooflines.
The Igreja de São Francisco contains the Capela dos Ossos (Chapel of Bones): a small interior chapel whose walls and ceiling are covered with the bones and skulls of approximately 5,000 Franciscan monks, assembled in the 16th century as a meditation on mortality. The inscription above the door reads Nós ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos - "We bones that are here await yours." Entry through the church; check current hours at igrejadesaofrancisco.pt.
The Museu de Évora on Largo do Conde de Vila Flor occupies a former archbishop's palace adjacent to the Roman temple, with Roman archaeology from the region, medieval painting, and Flemish polyptych panels.
Where to Stay and Eat
The Convento do Espinheiro is a 15th-century monastery converted to a hotel, 5 kilometres outside the walls - requiring a taxi to the town but offering the specific experience of sleeping in a working medieval monastery. Within the walls, the M'Ar De Ar Aqueduto occupies a former palace near the Roman aqueduct.
The Alentejo dish to eat in Évora is carne de porco à Alentejana - cubed pork marinated in white wine, garlic, and paprika, cooked with clams and coriander. It appears on most menus in the old town. The local reds from Reguengos de Monsaraz are the standard wine pairing. In December, look for a restaurant with a wood-burning fireplace visible from the entrance.
Return to Lisbon Oriente by Intercidades (approximately 1 hour 35 minutes).