Tucked just outside the old town walls is one of the oldest British military cemeteries still in existence. It was established in 1811 during the Peninsular War, when Elvas was a key allied base for Wellington's campaign against the French in Spain, and continued in use through the nineteenth century.
The cemetery is small, walled, and very quiet, with about thirty surviving headstones of British officers and their families. It is open during daylight hours; ring the bell at the gate of the Quinta dos Arcos if it is locked. A short, slightly melancholy stop for anyone interested in the Napoleonic period.