Elvas might not be on your radar, but this UNESCO fortress town once guarded the old road from Madrid to Lisbon with a star fort system so advanced that it still leaves military engineers in awe. Rooted in Elvas's DNA is the history of numerous attacks, safeguarded by circular bastions and highly advanced ramparts that are regarded as the greatest works of European military engineering.

The Aqueduto da Amoreira stretches over 8km across the valley and is a stone monument to what 16th-century engineers achieved with persistence and without any modern machinery. Elvas didn’t just do it with architecture; it took the same obsessive precision and perfected the candied Ameixa d'Elvas, a very old slow-cooked plum that dates back to the 15th century.

Every September, Elvas commemorates Sao Mateus and the Festas em Honra do Senhor Jesus da Piedade, a 14th-century tradition that celebrates the festivities with a pilgrimage, religious celebrations, concerts, rides, regional food, and craft markets.

Explore Elvas and uncover a history that deserves the Instagram ​‍​‌‍​‍‌hashtags.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

Your Guide to Elvas

Lose yourself among fortresses and aqueducts, tracing the echoes of battles, traders, and daily life along a city shaped by borders and time