What to see in Elvas, itinerary including the main monuments and places of interest of this town in Portugal, located near the border with Spain and surrounded by walls.
Tourist information
Elvas is a town in Portugal that is worth visiting, located near the border with Spain, not far from the road that connects Lisbon and Madrid, in the middle of a plain in the Alto Alentejo region.
The walls that surround it are well preserved and testify to the strategic position held in the past from a military point of view. The narrow streets where characteristic houses overlook have an unmistakable Arab imprint.
What see
– Amoreira Aqueduct, seven kilometers long, it is the most important monument still in use despite the construction dating back to the period between 1498 and 1622.
– Muralhas It is the largest fortress in Portugal, characterized by gray walls and star-shaped bastions, with moats and access gates to the historic center. The fort of Santa Luzia and the fort de Nossa Senhora da Graça guard the fortified city from the surrounding hills.
– Nossa Senhora da Assunçao it is the thirteenth century cathedral, modified in the sixteenth century following the rampant Manueline style with the introduction of buttresses, pinnacles, battlements and portals on the sides with ornaments.
– Nossa Senhora da Consolaçao it is an octagonal building dating back to 1543, built on the ruins of a previous circular church that belonged to the Templars and was destroyed in the fifteenth century. The interior is expertly decorated with the dome supported by Baroque columns and cladding in yellow and blue azulejos. Next to the church are the 16th century pelourinho in Gothic style and the Arch of the Porta de Alcacer.
– Castle, in Roman-Moorish style, to which a tower was added in the 16th century.
– Museu, contains collections of archaeological finds, religious objects and local crafts.
– Ducal Palace it dates back to 1600 and, with a marble-clad facade, is inspired by the buildings of the Italian Renaissance. It belonged to the Braganza family who reigned in Portugal in the period between 1640 and 1910.
Convent Santa Clara it is an ancient monastery from 1530, which belonged to the order of the Poor Clares, where the tombs of some members of the Braganza family are located.
