Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
268 939 240; Praça da República)
One of many banks with ATMs
Banco Espirito Santo & ATM
(
around town.
268 637 700; Av de Badajoz)
Opposite the Pousada de Santa Luzia.
District Hospital
(
10am-7pm Mon-Fri)
Free internet access. Enter from Rua dos
Espaço Internet
(Praça da República;
Sapateiros.
Police Station
(
268 639 470; Rua Isabel Maria Picão)
Post Office
(Rua da Cadeia;
8.30am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-12.30pm Sat)
Turismo
( 268 622 236;
www.cm-elvas.pt
;
Praça da República; 9am-7pm Apr-Oct, 9am-6pm Mon-Fri,
9am-12.30pm & 2-5.30pm Sat & Sun Nov-Mar)
Usually has a town map and pamphlets.
Getting There & Around
Drivers be aware - it's possible to find central parking, but not always easy; if you don't
like narrow one-way streets, park on the outskirts of town (or just inside Portas de
Olivença).
The
bus station
is outside the city walls, on the road to Spain. It's an 800m walk mostly
uphill (or a €6 taxi ride) to the main
praça
. Popular bus routes:
Estremoz
(around €10, 45 minutes, one weekdays) Or change at Vila Viçosa.
Évora
(around €13, 1¼ to 1¾ hours, four weekdays)
Portalegre
(around €14, 1¼ hours, two weekdays)
Faro
(€21, 6½ hours, one daily)
Lisbon
(€17.10, 3¼ to 3½ hours, seven daily)
TOP OF CHAPTER
Portalegre
POP 15,200 / ELEV 520M
Alto Alentejo's capital, Portalegre, is bunched up on a hilltop at the foot of Serra de São
Mamede. This pretty, whitewashed, ochre-edged city makes for a charming, low-key, off-
the-beaten-track experience. It's worth stopping here at the very least, en route to moun-
taintop villages.
Inside the city walls are faded baroque mansions and relics of the town's textile-manu-
facturing heyday - wool was the mainstay in the 18th century, cork in the 19th century,
