portugal travel guide

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.

Lying just 3 km to the west of the Algarve’s sprawling frontier town, Vila Real de Santo António, the once sleepy fishing village of Monte Gordo is the last in a long line of popular beach resorts gracing Portugal’s southern … Read more

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.

In 1830, when Gaspar Henriques de Paiva left his home in Monsanto, central Portugal, for the village of Azeitão in the Arrábida mountains close to Lisbon, he took with him the winning formula for one of Portugal’s best cheeses.

Set in a prime location overlooking the city centre, Porto’s Sé Cathedral is a magnificent Romanesque building dating right back to the 12th century.

This grey roofless edifice is all that remains of the once magnificent Gothic-style Carmo Church, which ponders silently from its privileged vantage point overlooking Rossio Square and the rest of Lisbon‘s downtown Baixa district.

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

Built in the second half of the 12th century, Coimbra’s magnificent cathedral known as Sé Velha is one of the finest Romanesque churches in Europe.

Synonymous with the city’s long and chequered history, Lisbon’s imposing Castle of São Jorge stands proud on the highest hill of the Tagus estuary and was once the nucleus of the Portuguese capital. Evidence suggests that an Iron Age castro, or … Read more

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.

An old ritual of pre-Roman origin, and with its roots firmly set in an ancient fertility festival dedicated to the goddess Ceres, the Festa dos Tabuleiros is one of the most colourful and traditional events in Portugal‘s cultural calendar.

Situated 56 km east of Porto, the pretty town of Amarante is set immaculately along the banks of the River Tâmega.

One of the most joyful expressions of love and happiness can be witnessed in the faces of the Noivas de Santo António (Brides of St Anthony) who take their wedding vows in the hallowed setting of Lisbon’s magnificent Sé Cathedral each … Read more

Surrounded by vineyards, orchards and pine-forests, the charming city of Viseu has been a major crossroads since the time of the Romans who chose its site for a military camp, one of the largest in the Iberian Peninsula.

Put a note in your diary, June is the month of the Festas de Lisboa when the city explodes into life with merrymaking in the streets and sardines sizzling on every corner.

With thousands of years of history and one of the richest patrimonies in the whole of Europe, Lisbon is a city full of unique and fascinating snippets of information, so here are a few things that you might be interested … Read more

Like chestnuts being roasted in the streets of Portugal during winter, the sight of sardines sizzling on a charcoal grill throughout the hot summer months is always a feast for visitors’ eyes.

Bordering the south-western edge of the Iberian Peninsula, with around half of its periphery surrounded by water, Portugal’s shoreline has been a source of attraction as well as a gateway to the rest of the world for hundreds of years.

One of Europe’s best-kept spa secrets is Furnas, a live volcanic showpiece located on the eastern side of São Miguel island in the Azores archipelago of Portugal.

To many people, the Beiras region of central Portugal is the most quintessential part of the country, a land of vineyards and fortress towns characterising the area with long sandy beaches embroidering its extensive Atlantic coastline.

Portugal has a rich musical heritage, flavoured by the meanderings of early medieval troubadours when Europe’s south-westernmost country ruled half the world. Today it’s the soulful ballads of the fervent fado singers in Lisbon’s ancient Alfama and Bairro Alto quarters … Read more

One of Lisbon’s architectural treasures, the Casa dos Bicos (or House of Pointed Stones) stands just off the city’s main square, Praça do Comércio.

Encircled by imposing mountains, the enchanting Dão wine-making region is a land of sprawling pine and eucalyptus forests stretched right across the northern parts of central Portugal between Aveiro on the Atlantic coast and Guarda near the Spanish border.

Without doubt one of Europe’s most astonishing cityscapes, Porto’s old quarter, with its thick flagstones and delicately-moulded façades, is attracting a fast-growing number of culture-hungry tourists.

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.

With a height of 1,993 metres, Estrela (meaning star) is by far the highest and most imposing of all the mountains on the Portuguese mainland.

Located in the extreme south-western corner of Portugal lies a most historic site that changed the world in the 15th and 16th centuries – Prince Henry the Navigator‘s ground-breaking Rosa dos Ventos.

Officially established in 1987, the Ria Formosa Natural Park is one of Europe’s most important wetland areas covering 18,400 hectares and encompassing a barrier island system stretching 60 km between Ancão and Manta Rota in the eastern Algarve.

Towering over Lisbon‘s southern coastline, the great limestone ridge of the Serra da Arrábida, 40 km south of the city and clearly visible from its higher points, is home to some of the world’s oldest living examples of Mediterranean vegetation.

One of the most inspired drinking establishments in the heart of the Portuguese capital is undoubtedly Pavilhão Chinês, whose previous incarnations include a theatre and grocery store.

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.

Situated high on a plateau near Portugal’s north-eastern frontier with Spain, the ancient city of Bragança was once the seat of the Dukes of Bragança, the country’s fourth and final dynasty, which ruled the country from 1640 to 1910.

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.

Located just 15 km to the north-west of the city of Faro lies the bustling market town of Loulé, the beating heart of a thriving agricultural area in the eastern Algarve.

Located 30 kilometres north of Braga in the enchanting Minho region, Ponte de Lima is without doubt one of the loveliest and best-preserved medieval towns in the whole of Portugal.

One particular household name that has stood the test of time is Vasco da Gama – intrepid explorer, world tradesman and Portuguese national hero.

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.

Surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and nestling between two continents, the Azores is one of the world’s premier scuba diving destinations.

Faial’s capital, Horta, is a major seafaring centre and a regular meeting point for yachts and other vessels crossing the Atlantic, having played host to streams of caravels, clippers and catamarans over the centuries.

Conímbriga is the most extensive Roman site so far discovered in Portugal…but its story is a chequered one.

Set high on a hill looking over the seafront, Porto Moniz is a remote coastal town located at the north-westernmost point of Madeira, well sheltered by a narrow peninsula that points toward a picturesque islet called Ilhéu Mole.

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.

On the road to Colares, just 2 km west of the historic village of Sintra and a short drive from Lisbon, lies the delightful Palace of Monserrate, one of the most impressive examples of Romantic architecture in Portugal.

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.

Portugal is famous for the Lusitano horse, a creature renowned for its courageous character, gorgeous physique, gentle temperament, amazing agility and versatile performance.

A couple of miles off the Faro coast in the Algarve lies one of the most enchanting and singularly beautiful beach destinations in the whole of southern Portugal, an unoccupied spit of sand officially called the Ilha da Barreta but known more affectionately by locals as the Ilha Deserta … Read more

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.

Famed as the fastest life-form on the planet, with a recorded speed of 389 kilometres per hour (242 mph), the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) is regularly spotted in Portugal, particularly along the western shores of the Algarve (indicated on the … Read more

The Azores are volcanic in origin and reminders of this are all around – the black sand beaches, the lava flows that line many coastal areas and the many craters that dot the landscape – but none are more striking than … Read more

A most prominent landmark in the Tagus Estuary is the Forte do Bugio lighthouse strategically set approximately 2.5 kilometres offshore at the mouth of the river.

A unique concentration of rock etchings and settlement sites in the Douro Valley region represents some of the world’s earliest evidence of recurrent human occupation.

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.

The levadas of Madeira are a hiker’s dream come true; hewn from the hard basalt rock, they skirt mountain ridges and descend slopes of all different gradients to offer the most spectacular views in Portugal.

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.

Reachable by ferry from Setúbal, the pristine setting of the Tróia Peninsula is unquestionably one of Portugal’s best-kept secrets.

Perched in the foothills of the São Mamede mountains, Portalegre is a delightful 17th-century city of lovely old houses with wrought-iron grilles and balconies nestling in the north-eastern corner of the picturesque Alentejo region of Portugal.

Recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature, José Saramago was one of the most thought-provoking and influential novelists of our age, winning a succession of prestigious awards and literary accolades during his lifetime.

Situated a short drive east of Faro airport in the eastern Algarve, Olhão is a pretty fishing port reminiscent of the typical North African villages found across the sea in Morocco, Tunisia and Libya.

With as many as 260 million speakers around the world, the majority of whom are native speakers, Portuguese is by far the most widely spoken Romance language after Spanish.

Nestled midway along Madeira‘s more densely populated south coast, just 9 kilometres from the centre of Funchal, the quaint little fishing village of Câmara de Lobos is a popular stopover for travellers heading west from the capital towards Cabo Girão, one of … Read more

Generally regarded as the cradle of the Portuguese nation, Guimarães played an important role in many of the events that led to the country’s hard-fought independence. It also witnessed the birth of Afonso Henriques, Portugal’s first king.

A rich and varied tourist destination, Portugal has a total of seventeen UNESCO World Heritage sites, sixteen cultural and one natural, with many more under consideration.

Over four million people visit a small town called Fátima in the centre of Portugal each year where three children saw the Virgin Mary more than a century ago.

Forming a perfect grid around three main parallel streets, the bustling Baixa district of downtown Lisbon is the beating heart of the Portuguese capital.

Dazzling in the theatricality of both its location and conception, Bom Jesus is a place of pilgrimage like no other – a Jacob’s ladder of religious symbols topped by an imposing church.

Tucked away in the Algarve hills, the small spa town of Monchique is popular for its bicarbonated spring waters, rich in sodium and flouride and known to aid respiratory problems and various other ailments.

Nestling at the heart of a wide bay on the eastern edge of Madeira, just a short drive from the island’s international airport, Machico is a pretty fishing town with plenty of tourist appeal and some of the most spectacular … Read more

The versatility of the dried salted cod known as bacalhau has long-established it as the Portuguese national dish, with options such as bacalhau assado no forno (cod roasted in the oven) and bacalhau à bras (cod fried with egg, potatoes and onions) always popular choices … Read more