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.
Serra da Estrela Cheese
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 […]
The Beauty of Buçaco
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 […]
Fair and Square
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 […]
The Flying Man
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 […]
The Power of Portuguese Literature
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.
Fit for a Queen
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.
The Paintings of Josefa de Óbidos
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 […]
The Roman Town of Conímbriga
Conímbriga is the most extensive Roman site so far discovered in Portugal…but its story is a chequered one.
Everlasting Love
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.