# Holy Week from Badajoz: getaways for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday Getaways from Badajoz for Holy Week: processions in Jerez de los Caballeros and Cáceres, Roman Mérida, the Jerte in blossom, the Aracena cave and Évora or Lisbon across the border. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/extremadura/badajoz/getaways/easter-holy-week · Revisado: 2026-11-13 Origen: Badajoz - [The Jerte Valley in spring, under three hours from Madrid](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/extremadura/jerte-valley/itineraries/jerte-valley-cherry-blossom-weekend.md) (2 nights, Jerte Valley): The Jerte cherry trees blossom between the end of March and mid-April, so many years Holy Week coincides with the flowering. It depends on that winter's cold: check the state of the blossom before leaving. On those days the tourist office advises going midweek, and accommodation is booked weeks ahead. - [Jerez de los Caballeros: towers and citadel](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/extremadura/jerez-de-los-caballeros/itineraries/towers-and-templars-with-a-guide.md) (Day itinerary, Jerez de los Caballeros): Holy Week in Jerez de los Caballeros is of national tourist interest, with floats leaving and returning to its four parishes, among Baroque towers. The rest of the year, the Museum of Sacred Art shows that Holy Week in a permanent exhibition. An hour from Badajoz. - [Cáceres: towers, palace and cistern](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/extremadura/caceres/itineraries/bujaco-golfines-and-cistern.md) (Day itinerary, Cáceres): In Holy Week the Cáceres processions go through the monumental city, among palaces and wall-walks. The crypt of San Francisco Javier houses its interpretation centre. On Sunday the Cáceres Museum and the Golfines open only in the morning, and in these days the parador is booked in good time. - [Mérida: theatre, museum and Alcazaba](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/extremadura/merida/itineraries/roman-theatre-museum-and-alcazaba.md) (Day itinerary, Mérida): The Mérida monumental site is open every day of Holy Week, because it only closes on 25 December and 1 and 6 January. The National Museum of Roman Art is free on Sunday and Saturday afternoon. Enter the theatre first thing, before the groups. - [Aracena: the Gruta and ham in Jabugo](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/andalusia/sierra-de-aracena/itineraries/aracena-marvels-cave-and-jabugo-ham.md) (Day itinerary, Sierra de Aracena): Spring is one of the good seasons in the Aracena sierra, with the streams full. The Gruta de las Maravillas is visited with a time slot and on long weekends sells out: buy your ticket a few days ahead. The Jabugo cellar charges €15 for children aged 3 to 12. - [Évora: temple, cathedral and bones](https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/alentejo/evora/itineraries/roman-temple-and-bone-chapel.md) (Day itinerary, Évora): In Portugal Good Friday is a holiday and Maundy Thursday is not, so Thursday is the best day for Évora: the centre at its normal pace and the cathedral terrace without queues. October to June is its season; in July and August it goes above 35 °C. - [A Weekend in Lisbon, Two and a Half Hours from Badajoz](https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/lisbon-region/lisbon/itineraries/weekend-from-badajoz.md) (2 nights, Lisbon): Two nights in Lisbon fit from Thursday to Holy Saturday. Watch out for Sunday: on Easter Sunday the Jerónimos and all of Belém close, so leave Belém for Friday or Saturday and Sunday for Alfama, the castle and the boat to Cacilhas. - [A night in Zafra and Jerez de los Caballeros, an hour and a half from Seville](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/extremadura/zafra/itineraries/night-in-zafra-and-jerez-de-los-caballeros-from-seville.md) (1 night, Zafra): One night at the Feria palace in Zafra and Sunday in Jerez de los Caballeros, with the last days of its Holy Week. October to May is the season for the El Raposo spa, a few kilometres away: book its circuit for Saturday afternoon. ## Four days in Extremadura In Extremadura Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are holidays, but Easter Monday is not. Holy Week is four days in a row, Thursday to Sunday, and for many more, because it coincides with the school holidays. With four days there is room for a two-night getaway and a day of processions near home, or two one-night getaways. An idea that works: Maundy Thursday in Portugal, where it is a working day and everything opens normally; Friday and Saturday, processions in Extremadura; Sunday, at home or in Jerez de los Caballeros. ## Processions an hour away Badajoz has its own Holy Week, but if you want another, those of the province and Cáceres are close. Jerez de los Caballeros, an hour away, has a Holy Week of national tourist interest: the floats leave from four parishes, each with its tower, and go up and down cobbled streets. In Cáceres, the processions pass between the palaces of the monumental city, one of the most striking settings in the region to watch them. Mérida combines the two: processions through the centre and the Roman site open every day, with the National Museum of Roman Art free on Sunday. ## Cherry blossom Holy Week moves between the end of March and the end of April, and the Jerte cherry trees blossom between the end of March and mid-April. Many years they coincide, and then the valley turns white from the river to the top of the sierra. Other years, with a late Holy Week, the blossom has already gone. Check the state of the blossom the week before. The Jerte is almost three hours from Badajoz: it calls for two nights. ## Portugal at Easter In Portugal Good Friday is a holiday and on Easter Sunday many monuments close: the Jerónimos and Belém in Lisbon, the Convent of Christ in Tomar, Mafra palace. Maundy Thursday, on the other hand, is a working day there. For Évora, an hour and a quarter away, Thursday is the perfect day: cathedral, Roman temple and Chapel of Bones at the pace of a normal day. ## The cave, the circus and the tram The Gruta de las Maravillas in Aracena, with its underground lakes, is the plan children like most, and the Jabugo ham cellar has a children's rate. In Mérida, the Roman circus and amphitheatre are explored like a game, and under-13s do not pay the joint ticket. And in Lisbon, tram 28 and the boat to Cacilhas. ## The Jerte in blossom fills up first The hardest are the beds in the Jerte in blossom and at the Cáceres parador. Then whatever has a time slot: the Gruta de las Maravillas, the Jerónimos ticket and the Zafra spa circuit. And to see the processions you do not need to book, but you do need to arrive early: look up the route on each town council's website. ## Heat, traffic and closures In early April afternoons may already reach 25 degrees in the Tierra de Barros, but procession nights are cool: bring a coat. The Wednesday-afternoon exit and the Easter Sunday return are the moments with the most cars on the A-5 and A-66. And remember that in Portugal it is one hour earlier: what opens there at nine opens at ten Badajoz time. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### Which days are holidays in Extremadura at Easter? Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Easter Monday is a working day, so the long weekend runs from Thursday to Sunday. ### Does Holy Week coincide with the cherry blossom? Many years yes, because the blossom arrives between the end of March and mid-April. It depends on the winter: check the state of the blossom before going. ### Are monuments in Portugal open at Easter? On Maundy Thursday, normally. On Easter Sunday the Jerónimos and Belém in Lisbon, the Convent of Christ in Tomar and Mafra palace close. ### Where can you see processions near Badajoz? In Jerez de los Caballeros, of national tourist interest, in Cáceres and in Mérida, all less than an hour and a half away.