Identity card
Formalities National identity card or passport.
Best season Summer can be scorchingly hot in the Alentejo. Spring is wonderful, and so is autumn.
Group size All sizes.
How to get there
Azure eagle operates a daily flight between Paris Orly and Lisbon, using a single-class economy Airbus A319. Timetables vary from day to day, but the option of an early morning departure means you can enjoy a full day in Lisbon, as Evora is around an hour from Lisbon.
Tel: 0810 797 997 Internet: www.aigle-azur.com
Air France offers three daily flights between Paris CDG and Lisbon...
Identity card
Formalities National identity card or passport.
Best season Summer can be scorchingly hot in the Alentejo. Spring is wonderful, and so is autumn.
Group size All sizes.
How to get there
Azure eagle operates a daily flight between Paris Orly and Lisbon, using a single-class economy Airbus A319. Timetables vary from day to day, but the option of an early morning departure means you can enjoy a full day in Lisbon, as Evora is around an hour from Lisbon.
Tel: 0810 797 997 Internet: www.aigle-azur.com
Air France offers three daily flights between Paris CDG and Lisbon. Its low-cost subsidiary Transavia also serves the Portuguese capital from Paris Orly.
Tel: 3654 or +33 (0)892 70 26 54 Internet: airfrance.fr
For more information
Portuguese National Tourist Office
Closed to the public. Tel: 01 56 88 31 90. Mail. info@visitportugal.com Internet: www.visitportugal.com
Hotels
Evora
M'Ar de Aqueduto
A Historic Design Hotel in a 15th-century palace hidden behind high walls in the heart of the city centre: an exercise in style that combines the history of the site with a particularly successful contemporary feel. The whole is enhanced by a large garden, an immense swimming pool and a 220 m2 spa. Chef Antonio Nobre works wonders with a cuisine inspired by the Alentejano tradition. 64 rooms and suites. Five meeting rooms (max. 200 p.)
Rua Cândido dos Reis - Tel: + 351 266 740 700 - Email: geral@ mardearhotels.com - Internet: www. mardemarhotels.com - Facebook: www.facebook.com/mardemarhotels
Convento do Espinheiro
The very best of chic has moved into the convent. The result is a five-star extravaganza bearing the Starwood label and a member of the Luxury Collection Hotels, a grandiose 15th-century extravaganza restored to its original glory. Everything is there intact: the cloister, the refectory, the church where you can even get married, the pulpit, the monks' steles... And sculptures of sacred art, azulejos... The place, located 1.5 km from Evora, erects its white walls in the middle of an olive grove. This allows participants in an incentive programme to mingle with the olive pickers during the season. It's very cheerful, very festive. Three restaurants and three bars, including a wine cellar. Indoor and outdoor swimming pools. 92 rooms and suites. Seven meeting rooms for up to 300 people.
Tel: + 351 266 788 200 - Email: reservas@conventodoespinheiro.com Internet: www.conventodoespinheiro.com
Carvalhal-Grandola
Troia Design Hotel
At the end of your stay, to recover from so much art and history, for a lazy day or two on a deserted beach on the western edge of the Alentejo, just opposite Setubal. The hotel has been completely refurbished to a very high standard, with the public areas dotted with contemporary works of art. The only drawback is that the hotel is located in a seaside complex which, despite being brought up to date, retains an ugly seventies cachet. 61 rooms and 144 suites, a 1,000 sq ft conference centre, 14 meeting rooms, a casino, an 18-hole golf course nearby and a marina.
Marina de Troia - Tel: +351 265 498 007 Email: info@troiadesignhotel.com Internet: www.troiadesignhotel.com
Restaurants
Estremoz
Gadanha
The Portugal of yesteryear revisited in an urban-bohemian style... You pass through a delicatessen, then into the restaurant itself, a whitewashed world enhanced by old furniture, and you take your seat at an immaculately white table. And then, what a marvel! Michele Marques offers a creative cuisine, with dishes inspired by Alentejano gastronomy that has been completely reworked. The desserts are to die for. Ideal for groups of less than 30 people.
Largo Dragoes de Olivença, 84 A Tel: 268 333 262 - Email: mercearia@merceariagadanha.pt Internet: www.merceariagadanha.pt
S. Pedro do Corval
Adega do Cachete
You can't leave the Alentejo without, at least once, trying its traditional cuisine. Home cooking, that is. So don't hesitate to stop off at this old-fashioned inn for an informal meal. On the menu: shark soup, pork stew with chillies and, above all, cod, cod and more cod. In every sauce. With a little fado in the background, it's simply unforgettable.
Rua do Grave N° 9. 7200-123. Tel: (+351) 266 549 568 Email: adegadocachete@iol.pt Internet: www.adegadocachete.com
Practical guides
PORTUGAL Geoguide
Gallimard (2015); PORTUGAL
Le Routard (2015); PORTUGAL
Guide Bleu (2014).
The Pousadas
Pousadas are to Portugal what paradores are to Spain. In other words, luxury hotels generally housed in historic buildings, convents, castles or palaces.
- Evora Poussada dos Loios, in a former 15th-century monastery. Largo Conde de Vila-Flor. 7000-804 Evora - Tel: (+ 351) 266 730 070. Mail: recepcao.loios@pestana.com
- Estremoz Poussada da Rainha Santa Isabel. On the site of the 13th-century home of King Diniz and his wife. Largo Diniz, 7100 -500. Estremoz. Tel: (+ 351) 268 332 075. Mail: recepcao.staisabel@pestana.com
- General website for pousadas: www.pousadas.pt
