Pick up in Hotel / Airbnb
Travel with us to Évora and discover the unique beauty of the Portuguese landscape. 1h30 min
See the changes through time in history and the conservation and restoration works of the Church of São Francisco.
At the entrance, a chilling inscription welcomes visitors: “We, the bones that are here, await yours.” This remarkable chapel, built in the 17th century, is one of the most unique and haunting monuments in the world. Its walls are lined with the bones of thousands of former inhabitants of Évora, creating an unforgettable space filled with history, symbolism, and legend. Your visit includes entrance tickets to explore this extraordinary site and uncover the secrets it holds.
The Church of Graça stands as one of the finest examples of Portuguese Renaissance architecture, enriched with innovative touches inspired by the Mannerist style. Its striking façade holds deep symbolic meaning, and the famous “Boys of Graça” add a touch of mystery and legend to the monument. A visit here reveals not only architectural beauty but also captivating stories that bring Évora’s past to life.
Once part of Évora’s grand royal palace complex, the Palácio de Dom Manuel preserves only the elegant Ladies’ Gallery—widely considered the most beautiful and romantic remnant of this 16th-century landmark. Rich in charm and history, this space invites you to uncover the fascinating stories of kings, queens, and the golden age of Évora.
The Portuguese Inquisition, established in 1536 and lasting nearly three centuries, marked one of the darkest chapters in the nation’s history. Once at the height of global influence, Portugal’s empire began to decline under the weight of this institution, which spread fear, intolerance, and religious persecution. Countless innocent lives were lost, many of them right here in Praça do Giraldo, where public executions by fire took place during the infamous acts of faith. Among the four Inquisition courts across Portugal, Évora’s was considered the most ruthless, leaving behind a somber legacy that still echoes in the city today.
Strolling along Rua 5 de Outubro means immersing yourself in Évora’s traditional commerce. This lively street is lined with shops where you can discover the finest treasures of Alentejo craftsmanship — from cork creations and hand-painted pottery to colorful furniture, artisanal rattles (chocalhos), and the iconic capotes, the traditional cloaks of the region. It’s the perfect spot to find authentic souvenirs and experience the region’s cultural heritage up close.
The grandest Gothic cathedral in Portugal, the Sé of Évora is an unmissable highlight of the city. Inspired by the iconic Notre Dame of Paris, this impressive monument holds fascinating details, from hidden symbols to references to ancient pagan traditions—unexpected within a Catholic church. Your visit includes entrance to the cathedral, its beautiful cloisters, and access to the rooftop, where you’ll enjoy unforgettable panoramic views over Évora and the Alentejo landscape.
With nearly 2,000 years of history, the Roman Temple of Évora stands as one of the best-preserved monuments of the ancient empire. This iconic landmark reflects the grandeur of Roman power and has become the true symbol of the city. As you admire its striking columns, your guide will share the fascinating stories behind this temple, traditionally linked to Emperor Julius Caesar and the origins of Évora itself.
At the very heart of Évora lies Praça do Giraldo, the city’s main square and a true symbol of its vibrant past and present. For centuries, this has been the stage of Évora’s economic, political, and social life, and since Évora’s designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986, it remains the perfect place to begin exploring the city. Here, your guide will set the scene with fascinating stories that connect Évora not only to Portugal’s history but also to universal events that shaped the world. You may even discover surprising links between your own country’s history and that of Évora!
Lunch in a local restaurant to try the real Alentejo cuisine. Many different dishes to choose from. Lunch not included
A visit to a traditional cork factory reveals the fascinating journey of cork: from the cork oak tree and its careful extraction to the selection, preparation, and final product. Did you know the bark of the cork oak regenerates and can be harvested every nine years, reaching up to 25 cm thick? Naturally resistant to heat, cold, and fire, cork is an extraordinary sustainable material. Portugal is responsible for 55% of the world’s cork production, used in everything from decorative coverings to sporting goods. Yet, cork is most famous for preserving the character of fine wines — allowing just the right amount of oxygen to pass through and help them age gracefully.
Wine tasting! Let us know if you are interested before the tour!
Tucked away from the main streets, Páteo de São Miguel is one of Évora’s hidden gems—beautiful, historic, and surprisingly quiet. Once the most fortified part of the city, it served as the residence of the governor and a royal lodging for kings visiting Évora. This site is also the birthplace of the Knights of Évora, who later became the Order of Avis, the dynasty that ushered in one of the most brilliant chapters in Portuguese history. A fascinating stop, especially for lovers of art and history.
Drop-off in Hotel / Airbnb
Gabby was fantastic. She was so knowledgeable and really taught us a lot about the history and culture. She was so kind and patient and we had a lot of fun with her. If we could give her more stars we would. Fabulous tour and guide!
Our day heading to Evora began with a quick stop at a cork processing facility and then headed for a delightful visit to an upcoming olive oil farm and vineyard that included a tour of the property and tastings of both olive oil varieties and wine sampling along with a delicious charcuterie selection. Following that we headed to Evora and toured the area including the Chapel of Bones. Although somewhat strange, the Chapel of Bones was developed to address an important problem (the relocation of thousands of bones in a burial site slated for development) and provided a reverent location to honor the dead. Our driver and guide were professional and knowledgeable. We would recommend this tour for sure!
Excellent tour with Ines. She was friendly, and professional. We visited most of the main sites in Evora and we went to a cork factory which I think was fascinating and different, We also did a wine tour at Mai Nova and tasted 4 diff wines. It was a long day from Lisbon but it was worth it.
Nice tour to Evora with just the four of us. We stopped first for the recommended wine tasting and then continued on to lunch. Our guide, Gabriella took us to a wonderful local Portuguese restaurant for a fantastic lunch. Then we continued on for a great tour of the city of Evora and saw all of its main sights. Pick up and drop off was right at our hotel. Wonderful day with Gabriella!
Francisco was wonderful - such a great tour, Mainova winery was beautiful and a fantastic wine tasting experience. The drive to and from Lisbon was informative and fun. Francisco has some great music choices. Evora was so beautiful and authentic. Much preferred over Sintra. Would 100% recommend this tour
The tour guide (Lisa) was knowledgeable and charming and easy to talk to. Highly recommend! And definitely with Lisa, one of the best guides I have had
We took the “Evora from Lisbon Private tour” with Matheus. He was easy to spend the day with, conversational and relaxed. We felt like we were spending the day with a friend. He showed us the cork factory & explained the production process - very interesting & nice products for purchase :-) Our wine tour at MiaNova was fantastic! Beautiful location & tour. The wine tasting exceeded our expectations, just lovely! And The Chapel of the Bones in Évora was fascinating! A day very well spent!
I highly recommend this day trip from Lisbon. Our guide, Gabrielle, was very knowledgeable about the area, culture and food. Beautiful countryside and quite different than the city life of Lisbon
Excellent tour of the Evora region. Our Guide, Gabriel, was very knowlegeable about the area and the history that made up this beautiful part of Portugsl. We added a Wine tour and vist to a cork factory, and that made it extra special. The lunch was at local resturant and it was fantastic. Gabriel knew the resturant owners so it was special treat. I highly recommend this 1 day tour of Evora.
Gabriela couldn’t have been nicer or more knowledgeable. I highly recommend her. She is a beautiful soul that I felt very comfortable with. Our mobility isn’t what it used to be, and she went above and beyond to make the necessary adjustments to accommodate us.
Ines was our guide. She was great, very knowledgeable of the area, history, art and very engaging. Would strongly recommend her as a guide. She spent more time with us to make sure we got to all the sights on our bucket list covered.
You should request Rodrigo, for sure! He is from Evora and knows it well! He’s a terrific guide. We booked a customized tour and had wanted to tour Evora and see the beautiful churches and ruins. We then visited a cork factory and the tapestry museum. Ask for Rodrigo for sure!! Great day.
It is worth the drive to make a trip to Evora. We added a wine, olive oil, vineyard tour and tasting, which took longer than expected but was wonderful.
This tour, and especially our guide, Ines, are a MUST! If you read nothing more, book this tour. For more detail, read on. When we booked this, we were given the option of several wine tastings as an add on. Not upselling and totally optional, but well worth it. We chose a stop at a cork processing plant. and the ability to taste olive oil and wine at Mainova. The winery is a baby at under ten years, but truly produces exceptional products. This was our first olive oil tasting, and we never knew the intricacies of different tastes that goes way beyond just the particular grape. Our winery guide took us through the grape vines, and the olive tree groves, and related it back to the oil in front of us. He explained the way to appreciate these differences in common, unpretentious terms. As for the wine, our three oils were followed by three wines. The guide chose based upon our requests a white, rise and a red. We asked whether we could taste something richer, and we were prepared with a fourth tasting without hesitation. Not expected but greatly appreciated and yes, we purchased several bottles of wine and olive oil. Our tasting was matched with plenty of cheese, bread, meats and yes, olive oil and olives! I should mention that the purchase was not because of being pressured, as there was none whatsoever. What we got were jokes and a leisurely day and we chose to purchase. Oh, and the tasting room itself is nothing short of fabulous! If that was not enough, we went to Evora to explore its history. Ines was a gold mine of information, shared readily and without prompting. We went through the Roman temple ruins, the city center, the main church and the Chapel of Bones. I have read other reviews from numerous providers who mention that the drive is too long and not worth it. I want to say yes, it absolutely is when you have a guide like Ines! While she is newer to the business, she was simply amazing. Friendly, quick to provide a suggestion and so easy to engage with. In short, today was absolutely perfect!
We had a wonderful day with Francisco!!! Super knowledgeable guide, very friendly and checked in with us often. You can't miss Evora. It was so fascinating. We ended the day at a vineyard for a tasting and it was surprisingly located at the vineyard one of my favorite wines. Definitely a highlight!! Absolutely recommend ❤️
Lisa provided me with a fascinating experience. We did have some car trouble, but she handled the situation with the aid of a colleague. It was a memorable experience for both of us.
Olive oil tasting educational
What an absolute amazing day in Évora with Caterina. She is knowledgeable, patient, caring, and very supportive. We throughly loved our time with her.
Rodrigo was a wonderful guide ; knowledgeable, attentive, and flexible. We enjoyed the cork factory, had delicious wine and the chapel of bones was very interesting. We would recommend a tour with Rodrigo.
Evora is a treasure and our guide was amazing. Caterina has a wealth of knowledge about history and suggestions for enriching the experience. We were delighted with the pace of the tour and lunch recommendation. We are grateful for the deep connections we experienced with Caterina and truly loved our tour.
We had an absolutely amazing day with Lisa. Pick up and drop offs were seamless and the drive was smooth. She gave us so much knowledge on everywhere we went. Even took extra time to pull up to a cork tree to explain the process. We had a lovely day with her and would highly recommend.
Fabulous day trip exploring Evora! Francisco was super knowledgeable and paid attention to every detail to make this a fun day exploring Evora. The winery/wine and cheese experience at Mainova was exceptional as well. Loved this day!
Lisa is a wonderful guide. My wife and I enjoyed our Tour with her very much. She arrived on time, she was friendly and very professional. Her car was spacious and comfortable. The tour was very well organized and she was very knowledgeable about the history of the city within the context of the history of Portugal. We would happy to take another tour with her.
The chapel of bones in Évora was the most unique structure I have seen anywhere. The use of longer bones on the columns and walls with skulls in the border areas of the ceiling was so artistic. The Cathedral of Evora, the grandest cathedral in Portugal, lived up to its reputation of being the Notre Dame of Portugal. A visit to a cork factory was fascinating! Our tour guide, Gabriela, made everything come alive! The itinerary lists lunch on your own. However, Gabriela did not just drop us off to search for a restaurant. She made reservations for our group of six at the Luar de Janeiro restaurant where we had a superb lunch. It is easy to see why Evora has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A wine tasting was listed as a possible option for this tour, but you would need to let the tour company know you wanted to do that, and there would be an extra charge for it. In my opinion, there were too many interesting historical sites to see to waste any time on a wine tasting. This tour far exceeded our expectations. If you choose it, I hope you are fortunate enough to have Gabriela for your guide!
My wife and I had an excellent experience with Gabriela on our Evora tour. She made us feel like family as we explored her University home. The Evora tour was paced well with expert narratives regarding the area and its history. Gabriela’s lunch reservation/recommendation took us to perhaps the best meal we have ever had on either side of the ocean. We highly recommend this tour and Gabriela!
The entire day was wonderful! Our tour guide Lisa was very friendly and knowledgeable…David at the cork factory was a delight….and Solange at the winery was AMAZING! Perfect day all around!
We had a wonderful day in Evora and exploring Alentejo with Gabriela and Matheus! Both were wonderful, knowledgeable, and ensured we had a fun day. Highly recommend doing the cork factory visit, David was a great host and it was fun to learn about the process in more detail! We also loved the Fitapreta winery tour and tasting. Drive is about 1.5 hours each way to get there for reference - we're happy we added it to our itinerary from Lisbon and were able to learn more about this region.
Rodrigo Ramalho is an excellent guide very knowledgeable about Evora and the surrounding area. Trip ran smoothly and was a delightfully experience.
What an amazing day in Évora with the wonderful Gabriela! She arranged a wine tasting, a wonderful lunch and was so knowledgeable, kind and caring. She made the day with my family so special.
Evora from Lisbon Private Tour with All its Highlights Lisbon An Unforgettable Journey Through Time with Lisa! 1039233686 If you are considering a tour with Picta Travel in Evora, we highly recommend our phenomenal guide, Lisa. Lisa has a warm personality that makes you feel like you're exploring the city with a knowledgeable friend. Her local knowledge is nothing short of exceptional. The visit to the Chapel of Bones was a profound experience and Lisa handled it with the perfect blend of reverence and historical context. As for Picta Travel as a company, they are a class act from start to finish. The booking process was seamless, communication was prompt and clear, and it’s evident they hire and cultivate guides of the highest caliber. Thank you, Lisa and Picta Travel, for a perfect day.
My husband and I travelled with two other couples and we had a wonderful private tour of Evora with our awesome guide Lisa. She was very knowledgeable and gave us a lovely walking tour of all the important areas in the town. I would highly recommend booking with Picta Travel for your excursions while visiting Portugal.
Loved working with this company from start to finish. They truly make everything possible and are always attentive to every detail.Our tour to Evora was amazing. 100% recommended.
We chose this private tour for comfort and flexibility, and it exceeded our expectations. Our guide was absolutely professional, engaging, and full of interesting information. We visited beautiful spots we would have never found on our own. The wine tasting was just excellent. This company also offers other tours, and they always deliver great quality!! Highly recommend it!!
This tour was wonderful from start to finish. The private vehicle was clean and spacious, and our guide knew everything about Évora and the Alentejo region. We explored historical sites, enjoyed beautiful views, and had a lovely wine tasting. The pick-up and drop-off service made everything super easy. We would definitely book with them again.
We chose a private tour to enjoy more flexibility, and it was the perfect decision. Our guide had a great sense of humor and made the whole experience fun and informative. We visited several amazing spots in Évora and enjoyed a great wine tasting. A very reliable and professional company.
We loved our experience with this company. The guide showed us the most beautiful spots in Évora and shared fascinating stories. The wine tasting was a special touch. 100% recommended.
Ohh what an experience, our guide a guy with a fancy mustache was wonderful, he was extremely knowledgeable and what a funny and likable person. Being a private tour, we could go at our own pace, which we loved. Hotel pick-up and drop-off were very convenient. Highly recommended for group friends, or anyone looking for a relaxed and well-organized day trip.
The guide had a lot of knowledge and took us to discover some very interesting little spots. Beautiful day!
All excellent. Our outstanding guide Francis. We liked the concept of a private guide.
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