Getaways from Badajoz: day trips and destinations close by.

The border is on the outskirts

Badajoz has the border on its outskirts, so routes divide between two countries. To the west, the Portuguese A6 crosses the Caia beside Elvas and continues across the plain to Évora; to the north-west, via Portalegre, you climb to Marvão, and to the south-west, on the other side of Lake Alqueva, lies Monsaraz. All three are towns of the Alentejo and fit into a Sunday, with one sum not to forget: Portugal is an hour behind.

To the east, the A-5 takes you in fifty minutes to Mérida and continues to Trujillo; Cáceres is an hour and twenty minutes away. To the south run the N-432, which goes to Zafra, and the N-435, which passes through Jerez de los Caballeros on the way to the Sierra de Aracena, already in Huelva.

Without a car there are fewer options, but there are some. Renfe Media Distancia goes to Mérida, with the station a quarter of an hour's walk from the theatre, and to Cáceres, with the station about two kilometres from the Plaza Mayor. On the other side, the CP regional links Badajoz with Elvas and Entroncamento. A bus reaches Jerez de los Caballeros, with few departures; Évora, Marvão and Monsaraz are, in practice, car trips.

Mérida, the only one under an hour

Less than an hour away there is only Mérida (48 minutes): the theatre and amphitheatre, the National Museum of Roman Art and the Alcazaba beside the Guadiana. It is also the most convenient by train.

Between an hour and an hour and a half is almost everything else. To the south, Jerez de los Caballeros (61 minutes), with its Templar alcazaba and four Baroque towers, and Zafra (67), with the Plaza Grande, the Plaza Chica and the alcázar of the Dukes of Feria; they are about forty minutes from each other. To the west, Évora (75), Marvão (85) and Monsaraz (89). To the north, monumental Cáceres (82).

A little further on, between an hour and a half and two hours, are Trujillo (101 minutes), with its Plaza Mayor and castle, and the Sierra de Aracena (115), with the Gruta de las Maravillas and Jabugo ham. Aracena works for a day, but also for two nights.

Further away the trip calls for a weekend: Monfragüe and its birds, about two hours twenty away, and, a little over three hours away, Doñana and El Rocío or La Alberca and the Sierra de Francia.

The Alentejo, green in spring

In winter the cities with plenty to see under cover work: Mérida, with the museum free on Sunday morning, and Zafra with an afternoon at the El Raposo spa, a plan at its best from October to April.

Spring is the season of the Alentejo, with green countryside: Évora and the Almendres menhirs, explored with an archaeologist, and the walking route from Castelo de Vide to Marvão along the PR3. It is also the best time for the birds of Monfragüe.

In July and August the plain often exceeds 35 °C, and Évora, Cáceres and Trujillo are not recommended. What works is water: the river beach on Lake Alqueva at Monsaraz, with lifeguards, and the climb to the walls when the sun goes down.

In autumn you go to the chestnut trees. In November, the Marvão Chestnut Fair fills the town with stalls; from October to December, the chestnut woods of the Sierra de Aracena turn yellow and the pigs are in the montanera, and there is a weekend for seeing them at leisure.

Évora, from the Roman temple to the Chapel of Bones

• Without a car, in a day: Mérida on a Sunday. Theatre and amphitheatre at 9:30 with the combined ticket, the free museum, grilled food beside the Alcazaba and the afternoon from the Roman bridge to the aqueduct.
• Across the border: Évora, from the Roman temple to the Chapel of Bones. An hour and a quarter along the A6, the cathedral terrace first thing and the whole walled centre on foot.
• Towards the south: Jerez de los Caballeros with a guide. The Templar alcazaba and the towers of San Miguel and San Bartolomé in the morning, the Museum of Sacred Art and the wall in the afternoon. The tourist office is closed on Sunday: book the visit beforehand.