Évora

Évora needs 2 days: the Roman Temple of Diana, one of the best-preserved Roman monuments on the Iberian Peninsula, on one, and the Chapel of Bones, lined with the skulls and bones of over 5,000 monks, on the other. March-May avoids the extreme heat of the Alentejo summer. It's inexpensive for Portugal. Its historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986, preserves visible layers of Roman, Moorish and medieval Christian rule, and its university, founded in 1559, is Portugal's second-oldest after Coimbra, giving it an active student life within an almost untouched period setting.