vila

Founded in 1272, Vila Real (which means ‘royal town’) is a thriving agricultural centre ideally situated on an upland plateau ringed with mountains.

Perhaps the most striking of all the marble towns in the Alentejo region, Vila Viçosa might be small in stature but it’s an immense place in the overall context of Portugal’s long and chequered history.

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.

Ocean hideaways don’t get much more idyllic than Porto Santo, a pretty volcanic island off the Moroccan coast near Madeira.

There’s no place in Portugal quite as remote as Corvo, a single volcanic crater island set bold as brass in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

The year 1942 was a very turbulent one but it did spawn one of the world’s most iconic and popular table wines.

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 sightseeing opportunities along the way.