The Spa Town of Caldas da Rainha
As its name implies, the lovely town of Caldas da Rainha (Queen’s Spa) an hour’s drive north of Lisbon in central Portugal preserves the eternal and loving memory of one […]
The Monastery of Alcobaça
Located 120 km (about an hour’s drive) due north of Lisbon, the church and adjacent monastery of Alcobaça are the earliest examples of truly Gothic architecture in Portugal.
A Brief History of Portuguese Art
Portuguese painting first came to prominence in the 15th century. In 1428, when Jan van Eyck visited Portugal for the marriage of King João I’s daughter Isabella to Philip the Good, the Duke […]
The Exuberance of Youth
One of Portugal’s lesser-known but much-savoured wines is vinho verde, so called because the grapes are picked young and the wine is mostly drunk just a year or two after […]
The Rarities of Arrábida
Towering over Lisbon‘s southern coastline, the great limestone ridge of the Serra da Arrábida, 40 km south of the city and clearly visible from its higher points, is home to […]
The City of Guarda
Located on a 1,075-metre-high plateau on the north-east flank of the Estrela mountains in central Portugal, Guarda is a city of great historic interest and the highest place in the […]
River of Gold
Iberia’s third longest river, the majestic Rio Douro, gathers waters from over fifty major tributaries to form the peninsula’s largest river basin.