Estrada Nacional 2: Abrantes to Faro

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Abrantes

   Abrantes stands on a hill above the Tagus, the longest river in the Iberian peninsula, at the point where the water leaves the rocky uplands and enters the wide plains of the Ribatejo. It is a town of about thirteen thousand people, built around a ruined castle with a long view over the river, and it was an important fortress guarding the route from Lisbon to Spain for centuries. In 1807, Napoleon's general Junot, who led the first French invasion of Portugal, took the town, and Napoleon rewarded him with the title Duke of Abrantes.

   Read the complete Abrantes write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Abrantes is where the day begins. Next is Evora.

2. 2. Evora

   Alentejo is the part of Portugal that looks as if someone had ironed it. South and east of the Tagus, the land rolls out in low swells of wheat, olive and cork oak, with white villages on the hills and storks nesting on the chimneys, and Évora sits in the middle of it, about 130 kilometres east of Lisbon. It is a walled city of some fifty-five thousand, and for riders it is the natural pause in a long day of empty road.

   Read the complete Evora write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Evora comes up about 130 km into the recorded legs. Next is Faro.

3. 3. Faro

   Faro is the capital of the Algarve and the southern end of Portugal's long road, though the people who land here usually head straight for the beaches. The town sits on a lagoon, the Ria Formosa, a protected area of sandbanks, salt marshes and channels that shelters flamingos, spoonbills and a very rich shoreline. Boats run out to the barrier islands, where long empty beaches face the open Atlantic. The old town, inside a medieval wall, has narrow cobbled streets, a cathedral built partly on the site of a mosque, and a pleasant marina.

   Read the complete Faro write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   The route ends here after 357 km.