Directly opposite the temple, the magnificent fifteenth-century Convento dos Lóios is now a top-grade pousada. Hotel staff can be sniffy about allowing in non-residents (or non-diners) to look around, but those that are able to proceed beyond the doors encounter dual horseshoe arches, slender twisted columns and intricate carvings on the doorway to the chapterhouse. All are fine examples of the so-called Luso-Moorish style and have been attributed to Francisco de Arruda, architect of Évora's aqueduct and the Belém tower in Lisbon.

Adjoining the pousada is the former conventual church, dedicated to São João Evangelista (Tues– Sun 10am–12.30pm & 2–5pm; €3). This is still the private property of the Duques de Cadaval, who occupy a wing or two of their adjacent ancestral palace. You are ushered through the Gothic church doorway to see the extraordinary floor-to-ceiling azulejos within, the masterpiece of one António Oliveira Bernardes and created early in the eighteenth century. They show scenes from the life of São Lourenço Justiniano, founder of the Lóios order. Hidden among the pews two small trapdoors stand open to reveal both a Moorish cistern (the church and convent were built over an old castle) and a grisly ossuary containing the bones of the convent's monks. You can buy a combination ticket (€5) at the church if you also want to see the private art collection of the Cadaval dukes, housed in a few rooms of the Palácio dos Duques de Cadaval, but it's probably one to skip.