Catherine of Bragança

With its remote beauty and strong, independently-minded people, Trás-os-Montes (meaning ‘beyond the mountains’) is one of the most isolated and genuinely unspoilt parts of southern Europe.

The country seat and preferred residence of the Dukes of Bragança (Portugal’s last ruling dynasty), Vila Viçosa’s Ducal Palace (Paço Ducal) once comprised more marble, azulejo tiles, tapestries and elaborate ironwork than any other noble edifice in the country.

Although Catarina de Bragança, the queen-consort of Charles II, didn’t introduce tea to England, she certainly made the afternoon tea dance fashionable, and due to her influence tea has become the widely-drunk beverage we enjoy today.

Running the length of Portugal’s south-eastern border with neighbouring Spain, the River Guadiana rises up from the heart of the Spanish province of Albacete at an altitude of 1,700 metres.