Discovering Portugal
Roughly rectangular in shape and with a population of around ten million people, Portugal has much to offer the modern visitor – young and old alike.
Peneda-Gerês National Park
Named after the two mountain ranges it encompasses, Peneda-Gerês National Park (Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês) is an area of outstanding scenic beauty in the extreme north of Portugal.
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 Spa Town of Chaves
Over the centuries, Chaves has been fought over by the Romans, the French during the Peninsular War and repeated Spanish invaders. Thermal springs and nearby gold deposits encouraged the Romans […]
Bread of Heaven
There’s a feeling in some parts of Portugal that bread is sacred – ‘pão é sagrado’, they say – and that it sustains life like the wafer taken at Communion.
Birds of a Feather
Europe’s south-westernmost country, Portugal, is synonymous with bird-watching – the two go hand-in-hand. Rich in both salt and freshwater wetlands, not to mention two exotic Atlantic archipelagos, the country has a […]
Exploring Northern Portugal
The green and pleasant north of Portugal is a place of traditional merry-making where annual festivals are ablaze with colourful costumes, lively processions and frenetic folk-dancing followed by a feast of […]
Overland to Lisbon
For independent visitors travelling under their own steam, there are several routes to the Portuguese capital from the Spanish frontier and other outlying areas of the country, each offering a wide variety of […]
The City of Vila Real
Founded in 1272, Vila Real (which means ‘royal town’) is a thriving agricultural centre ideally situated on an upland plateau ringed with mountains. The city has many interesting old buildings with elegant […]
The Red Kite
Regularly spotted in Portugal, the red kite (milvus milvus) is one of the world’s most acrobatic birds of prey and a formidable sight with its reddish-brown body, angled wings and […]