Why this ride
From Coimbra it runs 238 km to Évora; allow about 3 h 22 of riding. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Estrada Nacional 2: Coimbra to Evora
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 238 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 22
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Coimbra
Coimbra is a hill town that happens to hold one of the oldest universities in Europe. The old city climbs up from the Mondego river in a tangle of steep, cobbled lanes, with the university buildings at the summit, and in the evenings the sound of fado drifts down from taverns and small squares. The Coimbra version of fado is different from the Lisbon one, sung traditionally by men, often students in black capes, and tied to serenades beneath windows.
Read the complete Coimbra write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Coimbra is where the day begins. Next is Abrantes.
2. 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 comes up about 108 km into the recorded legs. Next is Evora.
3. 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
The route ends here after 238 km.
Leg by leg
Coimbra to Abrantes
Coimbra → Abrantes is 108 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Abrantes to Evora
Abrantes → Evora is 130 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.