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.
One of the most legendary and influential figures of Portugal’s long and chequered history is Afonso Henriques, the country’s first king.
Portuguese writing officially began in the 12th century when Henri de Bourgogne, father of Afonso Henriques, Portugal’s first king, brought with his court several French scholars and literary gentlemen.
Covering more than 100 hectares of prime terrain, Buçaco Forest rises majestically out of the coastal plain north of Coimbra to form one of the most luxuriant areas of woodland in the whole of Portugal.
The story of Pedro and Inês is an intriguing one; Portugal’s very own Romeo and Juliet. In essence, it’s a story of forbidden love.
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.
The undisputed queen of Portugal’s many first-rate cheeses is queijo da serra (serra cheese), made from the milk of ewes leisurely grazing in elevated pastures full of wild vegetation throughout the Estrela mountain region of central Portugal.
One of the most inventive characters of the 18th century must surely have been Bartolomeu Lourenço de Gusmão, the Brazilian-born genius who created the earliest known flying machine he christened the Passarola, a fire-powered aircraft which he showcased to Portugal‘s king … Read more
Besides being a strong, independently-minded woman back in the middle of the seventeenth century, Josefa de Óbidos (1630-84) over almost four decades created some of the most attractive and instantly recognisable paintings in the 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 of Burgundy, it marked the beginning of a long and close … Read more
A lively and cosmopolitan seaside resort at the mouth of the Mondego River in central Portugal, Figueira da Foz’s glorious centrepiece is its wide and very extensive sandy beach.
One of the most joyful expressions of love and happiness can be witnessed in the faces of the Noivas de Santo António (Brides of St Anthony) who take their wedding vows in the hallowed setting of Lisbon’s magnificent Sé Cathedral each … Read more
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.
To many people, the Beiras region of central Portugal is the most quintessential part of the country, a land of vineyards and fortress towns characterising the area with long sandy beaches embroidering its extensive Atlantic coastline.
Conímbriga is the most extensive Roman site so far discovered in Portugal…but its story is a chequered one.
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.
Ideally situated on the southern shoreline of São Miguel Island in the Azores, Vila Franca do Campo is a natural stopover for people en route between the capital Ponta Delgada and the thermal spa town of Furnas in the north-east.
Few places in Portugal are more welcoming and atmospheric than the Aldeias Históricas, a series of a dozen ancient and very historic villages spread out mostly along the Spanish frontier in the heart of the country.
Located 30km north of Abrantes, the small town of Vila de Rei (which means King’s Town) is a pretty place set in a wonderland of pinewoods, lakes, running streams and waterfalls right in the very heart of Portugal.
It is widely claimed that Portugal is the land of the azulejo painted tile and in no other country and by no other people has it been used on such a vast scale or in such an original way.
Birthplace of six kings and the seat of Portugal’s first university, Coimbra is one of the most celebrated cities in southern Europe.
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.
The attractive little town of Luso on the north-west slope of the Serra do Buçaco lies just 3 km from the northern tip of Buçaco Forest, one of the jewels in the central Portugal‘s tourism crown.
Latin but not Mediterranean, cosmopolitan but not crowded, Portugal is a country where a fair portion of the population still lives as people have always lived – in peaceful places far away from the hustle and bustle of modern life.
Having existed as a country for almost nine centuries, Portugal is one of the oldest places in Europe with strong traces of Palaeolithic and Mesolithic culture to be seen across the land.
Located in the heart of the old university city of Coimbra, the venerable church of Santa Cruz (which means Holy Cross) is one of Portugal’s most important monuments.
Enveloped in a Moorish wall, the diminutive whitewashed village of Óbidos was deemed so enchanting that it was gifted to a queen, not once but many times throughout the centuries.