King Dinis

Once a thriving farming centre in Roman times, the ancient town of Lourinhã (besides being one of the jewels of the Silver Coast region) is the undisputed dinosaur capital of Portugal.

One of the oldest in Europe, Coimbra University is a place of dedicated royal patronage with a fine academic tradition stretching all the way back to the 13th century when it first opened.

Nestling on the banks of the River Sizandro on the edge of the verdant Serra de Montejunto, the charming country town of Torres Vedras is an ancient place set deep in the heart of Portugal’s enchanting Estremadura region.

The longest of all Portugal’s rivers, the Tagus (Tejo in Portuguese) meanders across the Iberian Peninsula for just over 1,000 kilometres before spilling out into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon, right at the point where Portuguese caravels set sail on … Read more

The magnificent Convento de Cristo (Convent of Christ) in the historic town of Tomar in central Portugal is one of the most impressive religious complexes in the whole of southern Europe.

Southern Europe has many impressive caves to explore but some of the largest, deepest and most spectacular of them all are the cathedral-like Grutas de Mira de Aire located in the heart of central Portugal.

Surrounded by green fields studded with almond trees, the photogenic town of Tavira is one of the most attractive places in the Eastern Algarve.

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.

Surrounded by one of the oldest state forests in the world, the lovely old city of Leiria was once the southernmost outpost of the early Portuguese kingdom at a time when Lisbon was still under Moorish occupation.

Located close to the Spanish border in the centre of Portugal, Monsanto is generally considered to be the most typical and picturesque of all Portugal’s prized villages.

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.

Over the centuries, Chaves (a vibrant town in northern Portugal) has been fought over by the Romans, the French during the Peninsular War and repeated Spanish invaders.

Closely associated with the beginning of the Portuguese monarchy, the national Gothic style is elegant and ethereal with strains of the Romanesque sobriety and austere grace seen in some of its earliest examples.

Situated in a large and beautiful valley on the banks of the River Nabão in central Portugal, Tomar is very closely linked to the Knights Templar and one of the most important chapters of Portugal’s history.

Synonymous with the town of Tomar in the heart of the Ribatejo region, the legendary Knights Templar played a very important role in the reconquest of Portugal in the 12th century.



Located on a 1,075-metre-high plateau on the north-east flank of the Estrela mountains in central Portugal, Guarda is a city of great historic interest and the highest place in the country.

Famous for its creamy cheeses, Serpa is a peaceful agricultural hilltop town of lovely white houses huddled around an ancient castle in the south-eastern corner of the Alentejo.

Sitting comfortably on the north bank of the River Ave at the point where it gushes out into the Atlantic, Vila do Conde is an old ship-building town of high nobility still blessed with much of its former aristocratic charm.

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.

Often punctuated by snow, the vast rolling landscape of Serra da Estrela Natural Park is an absolute must for hikers, bird-watchers and nature lovers of all types visiting central Portugal.



Located in the heart of south-eastern Portugal, Mértola is a fascinating old fortress town with a heritage unlike any other place in the country.



Rising conspicuously from the vast open plain, about an hour’s drive north-east of Évora, the lovely town of Estremoz is one of the most rewarding places to visit in Portugal’s picturesque Alentejo region.

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.

Nestling a few kilometres inland from the Algarve‘s rugged west coast, Aljezur is an attractive little place of striking white houses and red roofs, surrounded by oak woods and fields emblazoned with wild flowers.

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.

Birthplace of six kings and the seat of Portugal’s first university, Coimbra is one of the most celebrated cities in southern Europe.

Nestling on the northern slopes of the Serra de Borba mountains, the pretty town of Borba rises neatly above the vast plains in the heart of Portugal’s enchanting Alentejo region.

Full of history and rustic traditions, Celorico da Beira is a small town nestling on the edge of the Serra da Estrela mountains approximately 50 kilometres east of Viseu in the heart of central Portugal.

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.

Perched high above the River Guadiana close to the frontier with Spain, the tiny medieval walled village of Monsaraz to the east of Évora is one of the most atmospheric places in the entire Alentejo region.