port

Known as the Venice of Portugal, Aveiro is surrounded by salt-flats, beaches and lagoons and dominated by the Central Canal running through the centre of town.

Famous for its port wine lodges, the ancient town of Vila Nova de Gaia lies directly opposite the great city of Porto on the steep south bank of the River Douro in northern Portugal.

Rich from centuries of trade, the ancient city of Porto is as much a cosmopolitan centre as it is a place steeped in the historical events of the past.

Compact and cosmopolitan, Lisbon is a walker’s dream come true with much to see in just a couple of hours and plenty of refined refreshment breaks along the way.

Spectacularly located at the confluence of the Douro and Pinhão rivers, just 22 kilometres (14 miles) upstream from Peso da Régua, the pretty town of Pinhão lies at the very heart of northern Portugal‘s famous Port wine-making region.

Iberia’s third longest river, the majestic Rio Douro, gathers waters from over fifty major tributaries to form the peninsula’s largest river basin.

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.

Legend attributes the founding of Lisbon and the derivation of its name to the heroes of Greek myth Ulysses, Lisa and Elixa. History, however, traces the city back to the Phoenicians, who settled in the port they named Alisubbo (balmy … Read more

Visitors to the picturesque Douro Valley region in the north of Portugal can enjoy a very large dose of nostalgia on one of the great railways journeys of the world along the Douro line.

The tranquil River Douro in the north of Portugal is the perfect setting for a leisurely cruise, as you can see from this photograph taken from the banks of the sleepy town of Pinhão.

Situated on the River Leça just north of the city of Porto, Matosinhos is a bustling beach town mostly famous for its large port and high-quality fish and seafood restaurants.

Devastated by a succession of earthquakes over the centuries, Setúbal is rich in relics of the past and nowadays is one of the busiest ports on Lisbon‘s southern shoreline.

It seems that Portugal’s much-celebrated port wine was invented by chance. A shortage of French claret at the end of the 17th-century had wealthy wine connoisseurs searching for suitable alternatives.