Elvas

We left Monsaraz just after 9am and drove 1 mile down the road to the next town as that’s where the dump station and fresh water were located. From there we took an hours drive north to the fortified city of Elvas.
The city of Elvas has always been a fortified city and was on the northern and eastern most frontline of the Portuguese borders dating back to the 15th century.
In the mid 16th century the Spanish invaded and decided to build 2 forts with side of the city, essentially flanking it but although the construction of these forts started in the 1650’s they hadn’t been completed by the late 1790’s by which time the war had taken a different course and the forts were completed by the Portuguese.
There star shapes make these forts almost impregnable and even today they are considered to the most heavily fortified and impregnable forts in the world and are a UNESCO world heritage site.
Our first stop was Forte de Santa Luzia where we spent the princely sum of €3 each to get in.
The fort has been fully restored thanks to a government initiative back in 2015 and this includes, the barracks, stables, armoury, tunnels that ran from the fort into town and the governors house on top of the fort.
The whole of Elvas has literally been restored, and painted it’s original colours which includes the 2 flanking forts and the whole of the fortified city.
To really appreciate it you need to see it from the air. All of the forts and the city are a defensive star shape.
From Forte de Santa Luzia we drove Wanda to our park up for the night underneath the Amoreira Aqueduct. This was how the main city of Elvas got its water. Once we were parked we walked up into the city and still the only way to gain entry is by passing through one of 5 portals that were former drawbridges.
Once inside the city walls we visited the castle, then wandered through the cobbled streets looking in the shops. We brought some roasted chestnuts from a street vendor and watched as the Christmas market and ice rink was being erected ready for next week.
At 4pm we got back to Wanda just as a little shower started outside that didn’t last too long and we spent the rest of the evening inside.Read more