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.
Signposts in the Sky
Looking upwards on a clear night, it’s difficult not to wonder how the heavens guided Portugal’s great discoverers towards new horizons in the late Middle Ages. By means of ancient […]
Lisbon’s Jerónimos Monastery
When visitors arrive in Lisbon‘s historic centre of Belém, the first building they see is the imposing Jerónimos Monastery, impressive for its sheer size and without doubt one of the most spectacular monuments in […]
The Best of Belém
Taking a stroll down Lisbon‘s memory lane, through the historic square mile of Belém, the place from which Portugal‘s fearless adventurers set sail for unknown lands in the 15th and 16th centuries, is one of the […]
Poetry in Commotion
Portugal’s most celebrated poet, Luís Vaz de Camões (c. 1524-1580), lived an extraordinarily eventful life by any stretch of the imagination. As a young man he fought in Morocco and paid […]
Lisbon’s 183-Year-Old Secret
Portugal’s highly-regarded and much-savoured Pastel de Belém celebrates its 183rd birthday this year, but its ingredients remain a closely guarded secret.
A Tower of Strength
Along with the imposing Castle of São Jorge, Lisbon’s strikingly eye-catching Tower of Belém is one of the city’s most iconic edifices. With its serene riverside location in the historic […]
A Seafaring Story
The history of Portugal’s ground-breaking association with the seas spanned a hundred years from 1415-1515. Widely labelled as the Age of Discovery, this epoch-making period saw Portuguese navigators sail across uncharted […]
Creating the Caravel
Purpose-built for traversing the oceans, the wide-hulled caravel (caravela in Portuguese) was arguably Portugal’s most significant contribution to maritime history and an integral part of Prince Henry the Navigator’s ambitious […]
Portugal’s Architectural Timeline
Although Portuguese architecture is said to have officially commenced with the start of the monarchy, there was already a large scattering of ancient buildings in existence all over the country, […]