Elvas
Coming into Portugal via Badajoz we have often seen this town high up on the hill to the left so this year, 2012 we decided to stop and have a look around, especially as it has just gone onto a World Heritage List.
Although there is a camp site in Elvas it was closed for the winter by the time we got there so we stayed near Campo Meior on a site that probably does not get many tourers judging by the amount of time it took to check in and for reception staff to work out what we would have to pay.This meant that we had to take the scooter into Elvas which was about 15 mins away. In practice you could visit for a few hours and outside the city walls there seems to be plenty of parking for motorhomes.
The town has an amazing set of walls and fortifications and a wonderful aqueduct. This was the second of what became a series of border forts we were to visit on this trip (Campo Meior had one as well) which were originally Moorish but then used by the Portuguese to fight the Spanish including the War of the Oranges and the Peninsular War and although there were a few skirmishes before this. Indeed near the castle there is a cemetery containing the remains of British soldiers who fought with Wellington during the Peninsular Wars.
Not only does the town have these extensive fortifications but there are two separate forts outside the town walls, Forte de Graca and Forte da Santa Luizia.
There are a few churches worth having a look at and Nossa Senhora da Consolacao has some lovely old azulejos tiles, see photo below.
Although there is a camp site in Elvas it was closed for the winter by the time we got there so we stayed near Campo Meior on a site that probably does not get many tourers judging by the amount of time it took to check in and for reception staff to work out what we would have to pay.This meant that we had to take the scooter into Elvas which was about 15 mins away. In practice you could visit for a few hours and outside the city walls there seems to be plenty of parking for motorhomes.
The town has an amazing set of walls and fortifications and a wonderful aqueduct. This was the second of what became a series of border forts we were to visit on this trip (Campo Meior had one as well) which were originally Moorish but then used by the Portuguese to fight the Spanish including the War of the Oranges and the Peninsular War and although there were a few skirmishes before this. Indeed near the castle there is a cemetery containing the remains of British soldiers who fought with Wellington during the Peninsular Wars.
Not only does the town have these extensive fortifications but there are two separate forts outside the town walls, Forte de Graca and Forte da Santa Luizia.
There are a few churches worth having a look at and Nossa Senhora da Consolacao has some lovely old azulejos tiles, see photo below.
Some of the fortifications date from the Moors and others were designed by the famous French military architect Vauban who has a very distinctive style in that the walls are star shaped (see the aerial view of Elvas below) so that there were no blind spots around the walls, ie from within the fort you could see who was outside the walls at any point.
The castle
one of the many gates into the city
As well as the impressive fortifications Elvas has an impressive aquaduct which is more than 7 kms long and was built between 1498 and 1622. The book says its in the Manueline style but to our eyes it was very plain but the sheer size of it was most impressive.
The pillory
