The Making of Manueline
Manueline is the style that marks the Portuguese artistic and architectural shift away from the late Gothic during the reign of King Manuel I (1469-1521).
Signposts in the Sky
Looking upwards on a clear night, it’s difficult not to wonder how the heavens guided Portugal’s great discoverers towards new horizons in the late Middle Ages. By means of ancient […]
Cabo da Roca
One of the jewels in Portugal’s tourism crown is the rocky, windswept headland called Cabo da Roca, mainland Europe’s most westerly point.
The Power of Portuguese Literature
Portuguese writing officially began in the 12th century when Henri de Bourgogne, father of Afonso Henriques, Portugal’s first king, brought with his court several French scholars and literary gentlemen.
The Prince of Tides
Spurred by Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460), the Portuguese discovered precisely what Columbus was seeking – the fabled Indies. They also charted new sea routes halfway around the world to […]
Cottage on Flores
This pretty stone cottage with its lovely garden is in fact a restaurant located in the idyllic seaside hamlet of Fajãzinha on the west coast of Flores Island in the Azores, right […]
A Piece of Maritime History
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.
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 […]
The Last Old Place
Latin but not Mediterranean, cosmopolitan but not crowded, Portugal is a country where much of the population still lives as people have always lived – in small, peaceful villages far away […]
Cabo Girão
One of the highest sea cliffs in the world is Cabo Girão, a rugged headland that looms menacingly over Madeira’s southern shoreline, just 15 km west of the island’s capital, […]