Amarante is a dreamy town in upland countryside in the North of Portugal. To the east looms the vast mass of the Serra do Marão, while the Tâmega Valley is lined with high hills with a mantle of woodland. The postcard image in Amarante is the São Gonçalo bridge on the Tâmega beside the Renaissance …
In the Porto District, Paredes is a town and municipality on the edge of the Sousa River Valley. It’s a picturesque rural corner of northern Portugal, with vine-covered hills, and farms growing succulent casca de carvalho melons. Cutting through this region is the Romanesque Route, so there are some atmospheric monuments from the medieval period: …
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 Those have been replaced by humble fishing boats, and despite the influx of tourists the town still makes …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 …
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, …