Moors in Portugal

A short drive to the north-east of Fátima lies Ourém, a loftily-perched medieval town clustered around an ancient, well-preserved castle.

Once a rich and powerful city, Silves today is a sleepy town lying in the foothills of the Serra de Monchique mountains in the western Algarve.

The beating heart of Sintra is without doubt its magnificent royal palace, the Paço Real, located on the town’s main square.

Easter is a much-celebrated occasion all over Portugal but Braga, the country’s ecclesiastical capital, transforms itself into a place of pure pilgrimage and intense religious fervour during the popular Holy Week (Semana Santa) festivities.

One of Portugal’s most historic villages, Sortelha is an ancient place photogenically wrapped inside a ring of walls in the heart of the enchanting Beiras region of central Portugal.

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.

Set on a great granite escarpment with sweeping views across the vast plains of the Alentejo region, the walled village of Marvão is one of the prettiest places in the whole of southern Europe.

Nestling peacefully on the banks of the River Mira (from which it derives its name), the pretty whitewashed town of Odemira is an alluring hideaway set in a prime spot some 20 kilometres (13 miles) inland from the picturesque Alentejo … Read more

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.

Encompassing a rich mix of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Manueline architecture, Braga Cathedral is the oldest building of its kind in Portugal and one of the most magnificent citadels of Christendom anywhere in the world.

Set at the foot of the Serra da Estrela, Seia is a traditional market town with a long history and some of Portugal’s most impressive mountain views.

After ruling Portugal for five centuries (almost as long as the Romans), the Moors left an indelible mark on the country with many strong vestiges of their presence still visible today.

North-east of Lisbon’s city centre in the ancient Xabregas district lies one of the most precious jewels in Portugal’s cultural crown, the magnificent Museu Nacional do Azulejo (National Tile Museum).

Rising like a pyramid above vast plains of surrounding wheat fields, Beja stands proud as the capital of the Lower (Baixo) Alentejo region.

Visitors in search of the real Algarve need look no further than Alte, a pretty village tucked away in the hills north-west of Loulé.

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

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.

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.

After the region’s gateway city of Faro, Portimão is the most important commercial centre in the Algarve and the main hub for the region’s thriving sardine-canning, leisure cruising and big-game fishing industries.

Located within the protected Arrábida Natural Park, Cabo Espichel is a lonely, brooding promontory where land comes to an abrupt end on the south-western tip of the Setúbal Peninsula some 50 kilometres south of Lisbon.

One of Portugal’s lesser-known but stunningly picturesque shorelines is the Alentejo Coast, a haven of long sandy beaches and hidden coves sheltered by golden cliffs stretching for over 150 kilometres (93 miles) between the Tróia Peninsula and the western Algarve.

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.

With its steep cobbled streets lined with elegant whitewashed houses, Palmela is a charming hilltop town huddled around a magnificent castle just 40km south of Lisbon.

Standing on a ridge above the River Tagus, the historic town of Santarém is one of the oldest and most intriguing places in the centre of Portugal.

Well sited above the River Tagus and always of strategic importance over the centuries, Abrantes provides an excellent base from which to explore the lower central regions of Portugal.

Set on a curving turquoise bay just 40 km south of Lisbon, Sesimbra is both an attractive fishing town and popular tourist resort within easy reach of the capital.

The delightful old town of Alcochete is located on the south bank of the River Tagus, in close proximity to the Tagus Estuary Nature Reserve.

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.



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.

Boasting an idyllic waterside setting in the north-eastern corner of the Algarve, the enchanting town of Alcoutim is a place of unspoilt peace and quiet just across the River Guadiana from neighbouring Spain.