# A Sunday on foot from Castelo de Vide to Marvão on the PR3 trail Almost ten waymarked kilometres between two border towns, with a final climb on a medieval cobbled path among chestnut trees. You eat in Marvão and walk the walls at sunset. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/alentejo/marvao/itineraries/pr3-trail-from-castelo-de-vide · Revisado: 2026-11-12 ## El día - 08:30 · Salida: 1 h 30 by car (Spanish time · to Castelo de Vide; you arrive around 9:00 Portuguese time) - 09:30 · PR3 trail from Castelo de Vide to Marvão (Portuguese time · 9.6 km · 3 h 30 · the last 3 km uphill) - 15 min by car, 6,5 km - 13:30 · Ninho d'Águias Restaurant (Ninho d'Águias · the pousada's restaurant · Alentejo cooking · open daily at midday) · Ninho d'Águias Restaurant, €€€ - 2 min on foot - 15:30 · The town and the walk along the walls (the wall-walk and whitewashed streets · 1 h 30) - 5 min on foot - 17:00 · Marvão Castle and its cistern (if you have the legs · 1 h) - 18:00 · Vuelta (taxi or a second car to Castelo de Vide · you reach Badajoz around 21:00 Spanish time) Between Castelo de Vide and Marvão, the two walled towns of the Serra de São Mamede, there is a waymarked 9.6 km trail that crosses the countryside and ends by climbing to Marvão on a medieval cobbled path among chestnut trees. It is the PR3, a linear route that the official listing gives as medium difficulty, with three and a half hours of walking. The last three kilometres are uphill, and they are the ones that count: you reach the gate of the wall with the town above you and the Alentejo plain behind. This plan starts early in Castelo de Vide, lunches in Marvão and walks the walls in the afternoon. From Badajoz it is an hour and a half by car; from Cáceres, two. ## The day, hour by hour Stop times are Portuguese time, one hour behind Spain. 8:30 (Spanish time) · Leave for Castelo de Vide. You arrive around 9:00 Portuguese time. Leave the car in Castelo de Vide, where the trail begins. If you are two cars, leave one first in Marvão, by the wall: it is the most convenient way to close the day. 9:30 · The PR3, from Castelo de Vide to Marvão. 9.6 waymarked km, about three and a half hours at an easy pace. The first part is open sierra countryside; the last, the steep climb, along a cobbled path among chestnut trees up to Marvão. Bring water and something to eat: there are no springs you can count on. Ask for the map at the Marvão tourist office or carry the route downloaded. 13:30 · Lunch at Ninho d'Águias. The restaurant of the Pousada Marvão, on Rua 24 de Janeiro, with picture windows over the plain you have just crossed on foot. Alentejo cooking daily from 13:00 to 15:00: pickled partridge to start and sericaia with Elvas plums for dessert. Book by phone, on +351 245 993 201. If you arrive earlier, fago, on Travessa da Praça, serves lunch on Sunday from 12:30. 15:30 · The walls. The adarve, the wall walk, circles the town with open views over the plain, the sierra and Extremadura. Free. 17:00 · The castle and the cistern. At the top of the ridge, with one of the largest cisterns in Portugal. If your legs cannot manage any more, sit on the wall and watch the afternoon fall. 18:00 · Back to Castelo de Vide and home. Eleven kilometres to the car: a second car or a taxi; ask at the tourist office, which is open from 10:00 to 17:00, how to order one. You reach Badajoz around nine in the evening, Spanish time. ## Is it for me? If you walk often and three and a half hours with about six hundred metres of cumulative ascent do not scare you, yes. If not, do the plan the other way round and shorter: Marvão in the morning and the afternoon in Castelo de Vide, by car. With children, only if they are used to walking; the final climb is long. ## With a dog The trail can be done with a dog, better on a lead near livestock. In the taxi, mention it when you order. ## Cómo llegar ### By car Essential to reach Castelo de Vide. The tricky part is getting back to the car: two cars, one at each end, or a taxi. ## Consejos ### Set off early That way you do the final climb before noon and reach Marvão at lunchtime. ### Wear mountain footwear The medieval cobbles are slippery when damp and the countryside turns to mud after rain. ### Organise the return before setting out Leave a car in Marvão or be sure how to order a taxi: do not count on public transport between the two towns on a Sunday. ## Cuándo no ir July and August: the trail is almost entirely in the sun and the final climb falls at midday. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### How many kilometres is the PR3? 9.6 km, linear, from Castelo de Vide to Marvão. The official listing estimates 3 h 30 and gives it medium difficulty. ### Is it hard? The last three kilometres are a steep climb on cobbles. The rest is countryside without big gradients. ### How do I get back to the car? With a second car left in Marvão or by taxi: it is 11 km by road. ### Can it be done the other way round? Yes, from Marvão to Castelo de Vide, with the descent at the start. You lose the arrival at the wall from below, which is the best part of the route.