Roughly rectangular in shape and with a population of around ten million people, Portugal has much to offer the modern visitor – young and old alike. It’s a land of fine wine, fairy-tale castles and palaces and long sandy beaches … Read more
Nestling on the northern slopes of the Serra de Borba mountains, the pretty town of Borba rises neatly above the vast plains in the heart of Portugal’s enchanting Alentejo region.
Laid out flat between the Atlantic and the Alentejo like a vast patched picnic blanket, the Estremadura region is one of the most varied in the whole of Portugal.
For independent visitors travelling under their own steam, there are several routes to the Portuguese capital from the Spanish frontier and other outlying areas of the country, each offering a wide variety of sightseeing opportunities along the way.
With its colourful vistas, wide-open roads and dazzling whitewashed villages, the great expanse of the Alentejo is perhaps the most vivid of Portugal’s landscapes.
On the morning of the 25th of April 1974, a group of courageous army officers known as the Young Captains managed to seize power by overthrowing Portugal’s repressive dictatorship to trigger a new era of democratic progress.
Perched high above the River Guadiana close to the frontier with Spain, the tiny medieval walled village of Monsaraz to the east of Évora is one of the most atmospheric places in the entire Alentejo region.
Set on a great granite escarpment with sweeping views across the vast plains of the Alentejo region, the walled village of Marvão is one of the prettiest places in the whole of southern Europe.
The Portuguese have a very strong attachment to their beliefs, customs and capabilities, which thankfully means that Portugal’s traditional art of handicrafts hasn’t been discarded as a result of the country’s rapid modernisation since the 1974 revolution.
The Phoenicians first brought olive trees across the Mediterranean to Portugal and the Romans were successful in cultivating the groves and pressing the olives to attain the precious oil.
After ruling Portugal for five centuries (almost as long as the Romans), the Moors left an indelible mark on the country with many strong vestiges of their presence still visible today.
Born at Lisbon’s Ajuda Palace on the 28th of September 1863, King Carlos I reigned Portugal for more than eighteen years until he met an untimely end in 1908.
Covering some 600 square-kilometres, Portugal’s very own cowboy country – the Ribatejo, meaning ‘bank of the Tagus’ – is a highly fertile province and the country’s geographical and agricultural heartland.
Encompassing most of the country south of the River Tagus, the Alentejo is a vast, slightly remote wine region notable for its firm, generously fruity reds and characterful whites.
From Atlantic-fresh fish to the wild meats of the mountains, Portuguese food is distinctive and varied with many of the most popular regional dishes having evolved from age-old recipes based on locally-grown ingredients.
It’s an endearing thought that the lyrics of one of the world’s most popular songs came to mind during a car journey between Lisbon and the Algarve.
Regularly spotted in Portugal, the red kite (milvus milvus) is one of the world’s most acrobatic birds of prey and a formidable sight with its reddish-brown body, angled wings and deeply forked tail.
Fringed by salt-flats and paddy-fields, Alcácer do Sal is an old port town on the Sado River about 90 kilometres south-east of Lisbon.
Perhaps the most striking of all the marble towns in the Alentejo region, Vila Viçosa might be small in stature but it’s an immense place in the overall context of Portugal’s long and chequered history.
Closely associated with the beginning of the Portuguese monarchy, the national Gothic style is elegant and ethereal with strains of the Romanesque sobriety and austere grace seen in some of its earliest examples.
One of Portugal’s lesser-known but stunningly picturesque shorelines is the Alentejo Coast, a haven of long sandy beaches and hidden coves sheltered by golden cliffs stretching for over 150 kilometres (93 miles) between the Tróia Peninsula and the western Algarve.
Bordering the south-western edge of the Iberian Peninsula, with around half of its periphery surrounded by water, Portugal’s shoreline has been a source of attraction as well as a gateway to the rest of the world for hundreds of years.
One particular household name that has stood the test of time is Vasco da Gama – intrepid explorer, world tradesman and Portuguese national hero.
One of the planet’s most versatile natural products, cork is a renewable raw material that has been produced in Portugal for more than 200 years.
Portugal is famous for the Lusitano horse, a creature renowned for its courageous character, gorgeous physique, gentle temperament, amazing agility and versatile performance.
Reachable by ferry from Setúbal, the pristine setting of the Tróia Peninsula is unquestionably one of Portugal’s best-kept secrets.
Perched in the foothills of the São Mamede mountains, Portalegre is a delightful 17th-century city of lovely old houses with wrought-iron grilles and balconies nestling in the north-eastern corner of the picturesque Alentejo region of Portugal.
A rich and varied tourist destination, Portugal has a total of seventeen UNESCO World Heritage sites, sixteen cultural and one natural, with many more under consideration.
None of Portugal’s kings was as forward-thinking and gifted as Dinis (1261-1325), who wrote dozens of poems of a romantic nature, including many about his wife, Elizabeth of Aragon.
Dating from the early 12th century, many rare examples of Romanesque architecture still exist in Portugal, most notably in the northern regions of the country.
Located in the heart of south-eastern Portugal, Mértola is a fascinating old fortress town with a heritage unlike any other place in the country.
Besides enjoying Portugal’s enchanting landscape, fine wines, sandy beaches and warm year-round sunshine, the best moments for many visitors are served up in the country’s eateries, with the dining experience further enhanced by the choice of soups and other starters … Read more
Rising conspicuously from the vast open plain, about an hour’s drive north-east of Évora, the lovely town of Estremoz is one of the most rewarding places to visit in Portugal’s picturesque Alentejo region.
There’s a feeling in some parts of Portugal that bread is sacred – ‘pão é sagrado’, they say – and that it sustains life like the wafer taken at Communion.
Boasting an idyllic waterside setting in the north-eastern corner of the Algarve, the enchanting town of Alcoutim is a place of unspoilt peace and quiet just across the River Guadiana from neighbouring Spain.
Europe’s south-westernmost country, Portugal, is synonymous with bird-watching – the two go hand-in-hand.