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.

Surfing fans need to take note that Portugal is one of the main midwinter venues of the Big Wave Challenge, along with a growing number of other top international surf destinations.

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

Napoleon’s attempts to conquer the Iberian Peninsula came to an abrupt halt when his army under Marshall Massena encountered the Lines of Torres Vedras, a defensive stronghold designed to protect Lisbon.

With its steep narrow streets and spectacular views, Covilhã is one of the most charming places in central Portugal. It’s also an excellent base from which to explore the wild and rugged Serra da Estrela mountain region.

The Moors, Romans and Phoenicians helped create the charming seaside town of Lagos in the western Algarve and parts of its ancient wall still stand guard.

None of Portugal’s kings was as forward-thinking and gifted as Dinis (1261-1325), who wrote dozens of poems of a romantic nature, including many about his wife, Elizabeth of Aragon.

Basking in crisp air and affording the most breathtaking vistas, the charming town of Caramulo is the centrepiece of a region renowned for its health and wellness benefits set against a backdrop of mimosa and heather-laden mountains.

Dating from the early 12th century, many rare examples of Romanesque architecture still exist in Portugal, most notably in the northern regions of the country.



A major highlight of the enchanting Setúbal Peninsula south of Lisbon is the long stretch of sandy coastline known as the Costa da Caparica.



Often overshadowed by the popularity and prestige of port wine, the Douro’s increasing amount of high-quality table wine is making a big splash in restaurants up and down Portugal.



Situated on the River Leça just north of the city of Porto, Matosinhos is a bustling beach town mostly famous for its large port and high-quality fish and seafood restaurants.

Besides Portugal’s intrepid, ground-breaking explorer of the same name, another famous Vasco born in the 15th century was the master painter Vasco Fernandes, aka Grão Vasco (or Vasco the Great).

Often punctuated by snow, the vast rolling landscape of Serra da Estrela Natural Park is an absolute must for hikers, bird-watchers and nature lovers of all types visiting central Portugal.

With all the wonder of a tale from the Arabian Nights, Portugal’s long and chequered history is today still greatly evident from the many humble objects associated with the simple daily existence of the past.

Located in the heart of south-eastern Portugal, Mértola is a fascinating old fortress town with a heritage unlike any other place in the country.

Well preserved and pristine, with some important geological features, Portugal’s largely-unknown Selvagem Islands have an extremely valuable natural heritage considered of great ecological and scientific value, as well as a landscape quite unparalleled anywhere else in the world.

Ideally situated on the southern shoreline of São Miguel Island in the Azores, Vila Franca do Campo is a natural stopover for people en route between the capital Ponta Delgada and the thermal spa town of Furnas in the north-east.

Besides enjoying Portugal’s enchanting landscape, fine wines, sandy beaches and warm year-round sunshine, the best moments for many visitors are served up in the country’s eateries, with the dining experience further enhanced by the choice of soups and other starters … Read more

Nicknamed the Blue Island due to its abundance of hydrangeas, Faial in the Azores is like a floating garden of orchards, wild exotic flowers and fertile pastures right in the middle of the Atlantic.

Evoking the Middle Ages, the grand old Castelo de Guimarães still exudes much of the boldness and pride that created the kingdom of Portugal many centuries ago.

Read the transcript of our podcast – the Portugal Travel Show – covering several destinations in Portugal, including Lisbon, Madeira, Douro and the Algarve.

With immense geographical allure and a wealth of seafaring history, Sagres offers a taste of the real Portugal, a town famed for its maritime tradition with the unique status of being the most south-westerly place on the European mainland.

Rising conspicuously from the vast open plain, about an hour’s drive north-east of Évora, the lovely town of Estremoz is one of the most rewarding places to visit in Portugal’s picturesque Alentejo region.

One of the pearls of the Portuguese Riviera is the upmarket resort town of Estoril located 26 km west of Lisbon and just 3 km east of cosmopolitan Cascais.

With its broad avenues, large squares and a pleasant air of prosperity, Castelo Branco is an attractive town of parks and gardens and a very good base from which to explore the border region of central Portugal.

Few places in Portugal are more welcoming and atmospheric than the Aldeias Históricas, a series of a dozen ancient and very historic villages spread out mostly along the Spanish frontier in the heart of the country.

Located about an hour’s drive north-west of Funchal, the enchanting seaside town of São Vicente is a place of spectacular visual splendour and arguably one of the most precious jewels in Madeira’s glittering tourism crown.

One of the most picturesque seaside towns in Portugal, Nazaré is a bustling resort with a large crescent-shaped stretch of golden, sandy beach on the west coast of central Portugal.

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.

Nestling a few kilometres inland from the Algarve‘s rugged west coast, Aljezur is an attractive little place of striking white houses and red roofs, surrounded by oak woods and fields emblazoned with wild flowers.

One of Portugal’s greatest literary figures, Fernando António Nogueira Pessoa is posthumously regarded as the most extraordinary poet of his generation.

Portugal’s national gallery is the magnificent Ancient Art Museum where visitors to Lisbon can view an outstanding collection of paintings, sculptures and decorative arts spanning more than 700 years.

Boasting an idyllic waterside setting in the north-eastern corner of the Algarve, the enchanting town of Alcoutim is a place of unspoilt peace and quiet just across the River Guadiana from neighbouring Spain.

Famous for its sugar plums, Elvas is also a citadel whose Spain-facing fortifications match those of Badajoz across the border a few kilometres away.

Known as the Green Island (Ilha Verde), São Miguel is the largest and most developed in the Azores, Portugal’s verdant nine-island archipelago in the mid-Atlantic.

Portugal’s ever-popular and intensely heartfelt national song is known as fado, which holds UNESCO’s Intangible Heritage of Humanity award and is celebrated the world over as a major performing art.

Recalling times from days gone by, Aldeia da Cuada (pictured) on Flores Island in the Azores, is a very rare accommodation treat right on the western edge of Europe.

Nestling on the eastern shores of Terceira Island in the central group of the Azores, the picturesque port town of Praia da Vitória features a large bay with a long sandy beach and a modern marina popular with ocean-crossing vessels.

Uniquely situated behind a long offshore sandbank, the Ria de Aveiro stretches for about 45 kilometres between Ovar to the north and Mira to the south, reaching a width of about 10 kilometres at its widest point.

Located 30 kilometres north of Abrantes, the small town of Vila de Rei (which means King’s Town) is a pretty place set in a wonderland of pinewoods, lakes, running streams and waterfalls right in the very heart of Portugal.

Perched on a high cliff facing the Atlantic, just 10 km west of Mafra, the pretty fishing town of Ericeira metamorphoses into a lively holiday resort during the summer months, with numerous cafés, restaurants and bars opening up alongside its … Read more

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 on the western edge of Europe.

Devastated by a succession of earthquakes over the centuries, Setúbal is rich in relics of the past and nowadays is one of the busiest ports on Lisbon‘s southern shoreline.

The largest place in the archipelago and capital of both São Miguel Island and the Azores since 1522, Ponta Delgada is a charming city stretched out along a wide bay on the island’s south coast.

Set on a glittering bay against a background of soaring green mountains and nestling picturesquely into the shelter of the verdant hillside, the enchanting city of Funchal attracted Madeira’s earliest settlers in the 15th century.

One of the remotest places in Europe, Flores (along with its sister island, Corvo) is part of the western group of the Azores archipelago and is classified as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

A pleasant town on Madeira‘s southern shoreline, Calheta (also known as Estreito da Calheta) is the island’s main centre of banana plantations, vineyards and sugar-cane production.

Largely unspoilt by the effects of modern development, Nordeste is a small outpost situated at the north-eastern tip of São Miguel island in the Azores, a nine-island archipelago located west of mainland Portugal in the North Atlantic.

The Baía da Barca aparthotel in the small town of Madalena on Pico island promises the warmest of welcomes for travellers in the Azores.

There’s no better place for a relaxing meal – alfresco style – than along the sun-baked shores of the Algarve in the south of Portugal.

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).

Elegant and restrained, the former royal summer palace of Queluz to the west of Lisbon is a popular stopover for visitors en route to the ancient village of Sintra.

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.

When the Portuguese voted for their favourite land and seascapes as part of the 7 Natural Wonders opinion poll, the outcome was a genuine showcase of the country’s most magnificent and much-loved vistas.

Birthplace of six kings and the seat of Portugal’s first university, Coimbra is one of the most celebrated cities in southern Europe.

Europe’s south-westernmost country, Portugal, is synonymous with bird-watching – the two go hand-in-hand.

A very popular form of artistic expression in the 19th century, scrimshaw is largely synonymous with the whaling heritage of the Azores islands, but the tradition has all but disappeared due to the diminishing supply of whales’ teeth.

Lisbon’s state-of-the-art Oceanário is not only the city’s top attraction but also the largest of its kind in Europe. Built as the centrepiece of the Expo ‘98 World Exposition, its aquariums represent the eco-systems of Antarctica, the Indian Ocean, Atlantic and … Read more