# A Sunday in Évora: the Almendres megaliths with an archaeologist Three hours with an archaeologist among the nearly one hundred Almendres menhirs and the great Zambujeiro dolmen, lunch in Évora and the afternoon at the cathedral and the Roman temple. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/alentejo/evora/itineraries/almendres-megaliths-with-an-archaeologist · Revisado: 2026-11-12 ## El día - 08:45 · Salida: 1 h 15 by car (Spanish time · along the A6 and Évora to Guadalupe) - 10:00 · Almendres Cromlech and Anta Grande do Zambujeiro (Portuguese time · Ebora Megalithica, from 10:00 to 13:00 · €30 · by reservation) · Ebora Megalithica, From €30 per person - 30 min by car, 17,8 km - 13:30 · O Antão Restaurant (O Antão · Rua João de Deus, next to Praça do Giraldo · Alentejo cooking · €€ · open on Sunday from 12:00 to 15:00 · book) · O Antão Restaurant, €€ - 5 min on foot - 15:30 · Évora Cathedral, cloister and terrace (cloister and terrace · €5 · closes at 17:00) - 2 min on foot - 16:45 · Roman Temple and the Diana garden (a few steps away · free) - 17:30 · Vuelta (Portuguese time · you reach Badajoz around 19:45 Spanish time) Sixteen kilometres from Évora, in a cork-oak wood next to the hamlet of Guadalupe, almost a hundred granite monoliths form one of the largest megalithic complexes in the peninsula. You can go on your own, but without explanation they are stones in a field. Ebora Megalithica, a small team of archaeologists based at the hamlet's interpretation centre, runs a three-hour visit in Spanish that adds the Almendres menhir and the Anta Grande do Zambujeiro, one of the largest dolmens in the peninsula. This plan puts that visit in the morning, lunches in Évora and leaves the cathedral and the Roman temple for the afternoon. From Badajoz it is an hour and a quarter by car; from Mérida, a little under two hours. ## The day, hour by hour Stop times are Portuguese time, one hour behind Spain. 8:45 (Spanish time) · Leave. From Badajoz along the A6 to Évora and from there west towards Guadalupe. You arrive around 9:30 Portuguese time, with time to find the interpretation centre, on Rua do Cromeleque. 10:00 · The Almendres and the Zambujeiro, with an archaeologist. The visit runs from 10:00 to 13:00, in groups of three to seven people, and costs €30 per person. They explain how and when the monuments were raised, how the people who built them lived and the landscape of cork and holm oak montado around them. Book with the form on their website: do it days ahead, because the groups are small. The last stretch to the cromlech is a dirt track that an ordinary car can manage slowly. 13:30 · Lunch at O Antão. Twenty-five minutes back to the city; park outside the wall. On Sunday, many eateries in the centre close. O Antão does not: it opens for lunch from Wednesday to Sunday, from 12:00 to 15:00, on Rua João de Deus, two minutes from Praça do Giraldo. Traditional Alentejo and Portuguese cooking, with no published menu: ask for the dish of the day and, if the weather is good, a table in the courtyard by the well. Book by phone or email, because on Sunday it fills up. From there you walk up to the cathedral for the afternoon. 15:30 · Cathedral, cloister and terrace. The Sé, of Gothic granite at the top of the centre: cloister, museum and a terrace over the rooftops for €5. It closes at 17:00; under-12s with their parents do not pay. 16:45 · Roman temple. The 1st-century Corinthian columns, a few steps away, in a square with no ticket office. Next to it, the Diana garden looks out over the plain. 17:30 · Return. You reach Badajoz around 19:45, Spanish time. ## On your own or with a guide The cromlech is in the open air, with no ticket office or opening hours: you can go on your own, at dawn or at dusk, when the shadows of the menhirs lengthen. The guided visit makes sense if you want to understand what you see and reach the Zambujeiro with someone who explains it. If you go on your own, bring water and go in low light. ## With children and with a dog The megaliths work well with children and teenagers: it is open countryside and every stone has a story. Check the minimum age with Ebora Megalithica before booking. Dogs can go to the cromlech on your own; for the guided visit, ask when you book. They are not allowed into the cathedral. ## Cómo llegar ### By car Essential for the Almendres: there is no public transport to Guadalupe. By the A6; some Portuguese motorways have electronic-only tolls, so register your number plate before crossing. ## Consejos ### Book the visit days ahead The groups are three to seven people and there are two sessions a day. ### Check the track if it has rained The last stretch to the cromlech is dirt: after heavy rain, ask when you book. ### Wrap up in winter In the cork wood first thing it is dry cold, even if the sun comes out later. ## Cuándo no ir The afternoon visit in July and August, from 14:00 to 17:00: it is the worst time of day on the Alentejo plain. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### How much does the Almendres visit cost? Going on your own is free. The guided visit by Ebora Megalithica costs €30 per person, lasts three hours and includes the Anta Grande do Zambujeiro. ### Is it in Spanish? Yes. They do it in Spanish, Portuguese or English. ### How far is it from Évora? About 16 km west, about 25 minutes by car, next to the hamlet of Guadalupe. ### How long does it take from Badajoz? An hour and a quarter to Évora and about 25 minutes more to Guadalupe. In Portugal it is an hour earlier.