The Royal Town of Vila Viçosa
Perhaps the most striking of all the marble towns in the Alentejo region, Vila Viçosa might be small in stature but it’s an immense place in the overall context of Portugal’s long and chequered history.
Perhaps the most striking of all the marble towns in the Alentejo region, Vila Viçosa might be small in stature but it’s an immense place in the overall context of Portugal’s long and chequered history.
A place of ancient origin just 17 kilometres to the west of Lisbon city centre, Oeiras has plenty of interest for visitors exploring the Cascais coast, including some of the Portuguese capital’s best and most accessible urban beaches.
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.
When King Manuel II sailed off into the sunset on the 5th of October 1910, it marked the end of the Portuguese monarchy.
With its colourful vistas, wide-open roads and dazzling whitewashed villages, the great expanse of the Alentejo is perhaps the most vivid of Portugal’s landscapes.
Portugal is a land that has a very generous supply of different types of spring and mineral water – from north to south and east to west – each blessed with its own unique characteristics.
Located in the heart of Belém, a bustling tourist centre in the western suburbs of Lisbon, the excellent Museu de Marinha (Maritime Museum) is a top attraction for anyone interested in learning all about Portugal’s many seafaring achievements over the … Read more