The seaside town of Câmara de Lobos was one of Madeira’s earliest settlements in the 15th century. There’s a pair of churches from these times, and a cove where caravels would have been anchored 600 years ago. Those have been replaced by humble fishing boats, and despite the influx of tourists the town still makes …
The town of São João da Madeira in the Aveiro District often polls as one of Portugal’s most liveable places. There’s isn’t a lot of history here and this working town isn’t loaded with sights. But what São João da Madeira does have is volumes of industrial heritage, as the source of Portugal’s hats, footwear …
On Madeira’s east coast, Machico was where the island’s discoverers first landed in 1419. The beach they arrived at looks very different now as the stones were replaced with Moroccan sand in 2008. You can divide your time between the ocean and land in Machico. On the water you’ll embark on a motorboat to spot …
In the Upper Douro Valley, wreathed in vineyards and maize farms, Lamego is a town that turns heads for its art, Baroque architecture and wine. Every church or chapel needs a moment because it might be hiding a treasure like gilded woodcarving or the tomb of a historic figure. And if you’re truly devoted you’ll …
A quiet coastal community in the southeast of Madeira, Caniço has many of the island’s best qualities. There are impossibly steep hills, pebble beaches and sheer cliffs. t Garajau there’s a large statue of Christ atop a headland, placed here before Rio’s Christ the Redeemer. Caniço is also on a marine reserve where groupers swim …
This railway town in the Tagus Valley was born in the industrial age when camps were pitched for workers at a junction in the network (“entroncamento” is junction in Portuguese). It soon became a nexus point for freight and passenger trains heading north and east. The most famous figures of the period would alight for …
In the northwestern suburbs of Paris, Cergy is part of a new town that was built to answer a housing crisis after the war. Cergy was joined to its neighbouring commune, creating the Cergy-Pontoise conurbation, whose population rocketed from just a couple of thousand in the 1950s to 200,000 today. So given the town’s youth, …
On the Alentejo coast, Vila Nova de Santo André is a new town developed for the vast container port in Sines. What Vila Nova de Santo André lacks in big-hitting sights, it makes up for with Blue Flag beaches that are undiscovered by tourists and a marvellous nature reserve with dunes and an unbelievable diversity …
On the fertile plain of the Tagus River, Almeirim is a small provincial town near the city of Santarém. Equestrianism and bull-fighting are the culture in Almeirim, and on Ascension Day every there’s an annual bull-run led by riders dressed in classic livery on lusitano mounts. The countryside around the town is fluted with wines, …
The town of Abrantes is commanded by a medieval castle above the right bank of the Tagus River, which bends past far below. The townscape is hilly but the surrounding countryside is flat, and Abrantes has a few lookouts where you watch over the river plain for miles. In the old town are sociable squares …