The Big Chill
Concentrating on a person’s health rather than how they look, Portugal‘s wide-ranging thermal spa experience is far more therapeutic than many other destinations, with the majority built around mineral-rich springs […]
The Paintings of Josefa de Óbidos
Besides being a strong, independently-minded woman back in the middle of the seventeenth century, Josefa de Óbidos (1630-84) over almost four decades created some of the most attractive and instantly […]
Magnificent Mafra
Comprising a palace, monastery and church, the vast royal edifice of Mafra is one of the largest historical buildings in Europe and a must-see monument for people visiting the Greater […]
Europe’s Sporting Edge
Blessed with a prime location on Europe’s south-west coast, Portugal offers visitors a great variety of leisure options with a wide range of sports activities to match, not to mention […]
Father of the Nation
One of the most legendary and influential figures of Portugal’s long and chequered history is Afonso Henriques, the country’s first king.
Portugal’s National Stadium
Built into the side of a thickly wooded hill on the outskirts of Lisbon, Portugal’s Estádio Nacional is one of the more intriguing football stadiums in Europe.
A Language of Longitude
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.
The Exuberance of Youth
One of Portugal’s lesser-known but much-savoured wines is vinho verde, so called because the grapes are picked young and the wine is mostly drunk just a year or two after […]
Touring Trás-os-Montes
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.
The Beiras of Central 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 […]