# Cerca de Mérida

From Mérida, at the crossing of the A-5 and the A-66, routes leave in a cross: to the north, Cáceres and Monfragüe; to the south, Zafra and Jerez de los Caballeros; to the east, Trujillo and Guadalupe, and to the west, beyond Badajoz, Évora, Monsaraz and Marvão, in the Alentejo.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/extremadura/merida/getaways

## Planes de un día
- [Zafra: squares, convent and spa](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/extremadura/zafra/itineraries/squares-santa-clara-and-spa.md) (50 min en coche): Plaza Grande and Plaza Chica with their measuring rod, the cloister of Santa Clara, the Zafra Única route, lunch in the Feria family's fortress and an afternoon on the thermal circuit at El Raposo.
- [Cáceres: towers, palace and cistern](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/extremadura/caceres/itineraries/bujaco-golfines-and-cistern.md) (57 min en coche): The Torre de Bujaco, the Golfines de Abajo palace with a guide, the cistern at the Museo de Cáceres and lunch at the parador; an afternoon of squares and churches.
- [Cáceres and Trujillo: King's Landing and Casterly Rock](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/extremadura/caceres/itineraries/kings-landing-and-casterly-rock.md) (57 min en coche): A free film tour through the Cáceres of Euron Greyjoy, the Plaza de Santa María and San Jorge, Extremaduran lunch and, in the afternoon, Casterly Rock at Trujillo castle.
- [Trujillo: HABLA winery and sunset at the castle](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/extremadura/trujillo/itineraries/trujillo-habla-winery-tasting-and-castle-sunset.md) (1 h 5 en coche): A three-wine tasting with tapas at Bodegas HABLA at 12:30, lunch in its gastrobar and, in the afternoon, the Plaza Mayor and the guided climb to the castle as the sun goes down.
- [Trujillo: square, medieval village and castle](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/extremadura/trujillo/itineraries/trujillo-main-square-and-castle-with-a-guide.md) (1 h 5 en coche): A morning guided visit with four tickets, from the castle to the Pizarro House; lunch in the parador refectory and an afternoon of square, churches or kestrels.
- [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) (1 h 28 en coche): A guided visit to San Miguel, San Bartolomé and the Templar citadel, the Museum of Sacred Art with its Holy Week display, lunch beside Santa María and back along the wall.
- [The monastery and the Humilladero hermitage](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/extremadura/guadalupe/itineraries/monastery-zurbaran-and-humilladero.md) (1 h 50 en coche): The monastery's museums first thing, a stroll round the Puebla and its arcades, lunch opposite the basilica and, in the afternoon, the Humilladero hermitage above the valley.
- [Évora: megaliths with an archaeologist](https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/alentejo/evora/itineraries/almendres-megaliths-with-an-archaeologist.md) (1 h 52 en coche): 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.
- [Évora: temple, cathedral and bones](https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/alentejo/evora/itineraries/roman-temple-and-bone-chapel.md) (1 h 52 en coche): Évora is an hour and a quarter from Badajoz and its walled centre can be seen on foot in a day: the cathedral terrace, the Roman temple, the Chapel of Bones and the aqueduct.
- [Monfragüe by 4x4 with a guide](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/extremadura/monfrague/itineraries/monfrague-guided-4x4-and-roast-lunch.md) (1 h 56 en coche): Four hours in an off-road vehicle with an authorised guide along the tracks and dehesas of Monfragüe, the Salto del Gitano and a wood-fired roast before heading home.
- [Monfragüe by car: vultures and castle](https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/extremadura/monfrague/itineraries/monfrague-salto-del-gitano-castle-and-portilla-del-tietar.md) (1 h 56 en coche): A morning at the Salto del Gitano and the castle tower, lunch with a view in Torrejón el Rubio and an afternoon at the Tiétar viewpoints. All beside the car and free.
- [On foot from Castelo de Vide to Marvão](https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/alentejo/marvao/itineraries/pr3-trail-from-castelo-de-vide.md) (2 h 2 en coche): 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.
- [Marvão: chestnut fair](https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/alentejo/marvao/itineraries/roast-chestnuts-at-the-fair.md) (2 h 2 en coche): Roast chestnuts and producers' stalls along the streets of Marvão at its November festival, a climb to the castle and Alentejo lunch with the plain spread out in front of you. An hour and a half from Badajoz.
- [Marvão and Castelo de Vide](https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/alentejo/marvao/itineraries/walls-and-jewish-quarter-castelo-de-vide.md) (2 h 2 en coche): A morning in Marvão, the walled town on a granite ridge, with the castle and its cistern; lunch and afternoon in Castelo de Vide, 11 km away, with its medieval Jewish quarter.
- [Monsaraz: town, menhirs and potters](https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/alentejo/monsaraz/itineraries/menhirs-potters-and-alqueva-views.md) (2 h 6 en coche): A town of two white streets with a castle overlooking Lake Alqueva, a medieval fresco of the good and the bad judge, a menhir enclosure and Portugal's largest pottery village.
- [Monsaraz: lake beach and sunset](https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/alentejo/monsaraz/itineraries/summer-lake-beach-and-sunset.md) (2 h 6 en coche): A swim at the river beach on Alqueva lake, with lifeguards and a children's area, lunch in the shade and a climb up to the town when the sun goes down, to see the lake from the castle.

## Destinos de 1 h 30 a 2 h en coche
- [Évora](https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/alentejo/evora.md), 1 h 45 by car: The capital of the Alentejo: a walled World Heritage centre, with a Roman temple, a cathedral with a terrace and the Chapel of Bones. It can be seen on foot in a day.

## Destinos de 2 h a 3 h en coche
- [Marvão](https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/alentejo/marvao.md), 2 h by car: A walled village high on a granite ridge, half an hour from Valencia de Alcántara. A castle with a cistern, white streets and views over two countries.
- [Monsaraz](https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/alentejo/monsaraz.md), 2 h by car: A walled village above Lake Alqueva, next to the Badajoz border. By day, a freshwater beach and menhirs; by night, one of the darkest skies in Europe.

## Where Extremadura's two motorways cross

Mérida is where Extremadura's two motorways cross, and each leads to a different kind of plan. The A-66, the Ruta de la Plata, climbs north to [Cáceres](/en/spain/extremadura/caceres) in an hour and continues to Plasencia, where the EX-208 enters [Monfragüe](/en/spain/extremadura/monfrague); to the south it goes down to [Zafra](/en/spain/extremadura/zafra), with [Jerez de los Caballeros](/en/spain/extremadura/jerez-de-los-caballeros) forty minutes further on. The A-5 leads east to [Trujillo](/en/spain/extremadura/trujillo) and west to Badajoz and the border, where you enter the [Alentejo](/en/portugal/alentejo). To [Guadalupe](/en/spain/extremadura/guadalupe) you go via San Pedro de Mérida, the N-430 to Obando and the EX-116, with the last bends already in the Villuercas.

Without a car, the real option is the Renfe Media Distancia train to Cáceres; check the Sunday timetable before setting out. To the rest, including Guadalupe, there is no practical transport for a day there and back. When you cross into Portugal you must allow for an hour less.

## Zafra and Cáceres, within the hour

**Less than an hour away** are Zafra (50 minutes), with the Plaza Grande, the Plaza Chica and the alcázar of the Dukes of Feria, and Cáceres (57), with the monumental city among towers and palaces.

**Between an hour and an hour and a half** are Trujillo (65 minutes), with its Plaza Mayor and castle, and Jerez de los Caballeros (88), with the Templar alcazaba and its Baroque towers.

**With an hour and a half or two hours by car** the Sunday calls for an early start: Guadalupe and its monastery (110), [Évora](/en/portugal/alentejo/evora) (112), Monfragüe (116) and the [Sierra de Aracena](/en/spain/andalusia/sierra-de-aracena) (119).

**Beyond two hours** are Marvão (122) and Monsaraz (126), which still fit into a long day, and the two-night trips: [Monfragüe and its birds](/en/spain/extremadura/monfrague/itineraries/monfrague-birdwatching-weekend-from-madrid), sleeping inside the park, or [La Alberca and the Sierra de Francia](/en/spain/castile-and-leon/la-alberca/itineraries/la-alberca-sierra-de-francia-weekend), almost three hours away.

## The birds of Monfragüe nest in spring

In winter, plans with a roof and hot water work: [Zafra with an afternoon at the El Raposo spa](/en/spain/extremadura/zafra/itineraries/squares-santa-clara-and-spa), at its best from October to April, or [Trujillo with a tasting at Bodegas HABLA](/en/spain/extremadura/trujillo/itineraries/trujillo-habla-winery-tasting-and-castle-sunset), with the castle visit in mid-afternoon.

In spring the birds of Monfragüe nest, and can be seen [from the Salto del Gitano viewpoints](/en/spain/extremadura/monfrague/itineraries/monfrague-salto-del-gitano-castle-and-portilla-del-tietar) with hardly any walking, and from February to July kestrels nest on the rooftops of Trujillo's Plaza Mayor. On the other side of the border, the green Alentejo countryside is the backdrop to [the Almendres menhirs with an archaeologist](/en/portugal/alentejo/evora/itineraries/almendres-megaliths-with-an-archaeologist).

In July and August, Cáceres, Trujillo and Évora scorch at midday. What works is water: [the river beach on Lake Alqueva at Monsaraz](/en/portugal/alentejo/monsaraz/itineraries/summer-lake-beach-and-sunset), lifeguarded from June to September, with the climb to the village as the sun goes down. In July, Jerez de los Caballeros holds its Templar Festival.

In autumn you head to the sierra. In October the deer are in rut at Monfragüe, which can be explored [in a guided 4x4](/en/spain/extremadura/monfrague/itineraries/monfrague-guided-4x4-and-roast-lunch); in November, the [Marvão Chestnut Fair](/en/portugal/alentejo/marvao/itineraries/roast-chestnuts-at-the-fair) fills the town with stalls, and the chestnut trees of the Villuercas surround [Guadalupe, its monastery and the Humilladero hermitage](/en/spain/extremadura/guadalupe/itineraries/monastery-zurbaran-and-humilladero).

## The Bujaco Tower and the cistern, in the morning

- **Without a car, in a day:** [Cáceres on a Sunday](/en/spain/extremadura/caceres/itineraries/bujaco-golfines-and-cistern). The Bujaco Tower, the Golfines de Abajo palace with a guide and the cistern of the Cáceres Museum in the morning, which is when they open, and an afternoon of squares and churches.
- **Towards the south:** [Jerez de los Caballeros with a guide](/en/spain/extremadura/jerez-de-los-caballeros/itineraries/towers-and-templars-with-a-guide). An hour and a half along the A-66, with Zafra on the way; the towers of San Miguel and San Bartolomé, the Templar alcazaba and the Museum of Sacred Art, which on Sunday opens in the morning.
- **Across the border:** [Évora, from the Roman temple to the Chapel of Bones](/en/portugal/alentejo/evora/itineraries/roman-temple-and-bone-chapel). A little under two hours via Badajoz and the Portuguese A6, and the whole walled centre on foot.

If you set out from another city in the area, see what is [near Badajoz](/en/spain/extremadura/badajoz/getaways) and [near Cáceres](/en/spain/extremadura/caceres/getaways).