Discovering Portugal
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.
The Medieval Village of Marvão
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 […]
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 […]
Exploring Northern Portugal
The green and pleasant north of Portugal is a place of traditional merry-making where annual festivals are ablaze with colourful costumes, lively processions and frenetic folk-dancing followed by a feast of […]
The Town of Castelo Branco
With its broad avenues, large squares and a pleasant air of prosperity, Castelo Branco is an attractive town of parks and gardens and a very good base from which to […]
Lisbon’s Sé Cathedral
The construction of Lisbon’s imposing cathedral began in the middle of the 12th century, during Afonso Henriques’ siege and capture of the city from the Moors.
Madeira’s Ancient Laurisilva Forest
Sweeping across much of the northern and central parts of Madeira island in the Atlantic, the world’s largest remaining expanse of primeval laurel forest not only dates back to the […]
House of Pointed Stones
One of Lisbon’s architectural treasures, the Casa dos Bicos (or House of Pointed Stones) stands just off the city’s main square, Praça do Comércio.
The Last Old Place
Latin but not Mediterranean, cosmopolitan but not crowded, Portugal is a country where much of the population still lives as people have always lived – in small, peaceful villages far away […]
Lisbon’s Ancient Origins
Legend attributes the founding of Lisbon and the derivation of its name to the heroes of Greek myth Ulysses, Lisa and Elixa. History, however, traces the city back to the […]