Battle of Aljubarrota

Uphill from downtown Lisbon, the city’s stylish Chiado district is an area of cultural importance steeped in centuries of history.

The great Dominican monastery of Santa Maria da Vitória in the small town of Batalha, central Portugal, isn’t just a national shrine but one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in Europe.

One of the most decisive conflicts in the history of Portugal – the famous Battle of Aljubarrota – took place on an isolated plain in the centre of the country well over six centuries ago.

Grand Master of the Order of Avis, King João I was king of Portugal from the 6th of April 1385 until his death on the 14th of August 1433 aged 76.

Encompassing a rich mix of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Manueline architecture, Braga Cathedral is the oldest building of its kind in Portugal and one of the most magnificent citadels of Christendom anywhere in the world.

When the renowned English travel writer William Beckford visited Portugal (his favourite European country) in the late-18th century, he happened upon two of the shiniest jewels in the country’s tourism crown – the monasteries of Batalha and Alcobaça.

Over the centuries, Chaves (a vibrant town in northern Portugal) has been fought over by the Romans, the French during the Peninsular War and repeated Spanish invaders.

Set in a prime location overlooking the city centre, Porto’s Sé Cathedral is a magnificent Romanesque building dating right back to the 12th century.

This grey roofless edifice is all that remains of the once magnificent Gothic-style Carmo Church, which ponders silently from its privileged vantage point overlooking Rossio Square and the rest of Lisbon‘s downtown Baixa district.