On a scenic bay at the mouth of the Sado River, Setúbal is a working city that built its fortune on the fishing industry in the 20th century. Tourism has since taken over, and although the city receives a lot of Portuguese visitors not many overseas tourists make it here. This may soon change when …
On the shore of a lagoon, Aveiro is a maritime city with water in its soul. The cityscape is crisscrossed by canals that you can navigate on painted gondola-style boats known as moliceiros. And on the quaysides in the older part of the city are charming Art Nouveau houses in pastel shades. The big attraction …
Cape Coral, nestled along the Gulf of Mexico, offered me a picturesque setting during my visit to Florida. The sun-drenched beaches and a plethora of family-friendly activities made it an ideal destination. In no time, my schedule was brimming with exciting experiences. Allow me to share my firsthand account of some of the most remarkable …
A frontier town of Castelo Branco was founded at the base of a Templar castle in the 13th century. War was a way of life for hundreds of years and the town was attacked repeatedly in the 17th and 18th centuries. Castelo Branco was the seat of a diocese, and the bishops’ palace and garden …
If you really want to get off the grid in Indonesia then consider taking a trip to Papua (also known as Irian Jaya) where you can enjoy gorgeous scenery as well as some of the best diving in the world. Papua is technically part of Indonesia although it is not to be confused with Papua …
Dating back to 1821, Connecticut’s largest city by population has been transformed since the turn of the 21st century. Today it’s a diverse hotbed of creativity, with a lot of culture, plentiful green space, and a beautiful shorefront. Relying on its harbor, this was traditionally a blue collar town, famed for a lot of manufacturing …
An outlying southeastern suburb of Paris, Melun is a small town with a big heritage. In Melun’s backyard are the lavish, dumbounding palaces of Vaux-le-Vicomte and Fontainebleau. Not only are these properties stupendous to see, they are both steeped in enough intrigue and political manoeuvring to keep you rapt for hours. But you can also …
Halfway between Lisbon and Sintra, Queluz is a city in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. These western outskirts are mostly residential, but punctuating the new housing estates are royal and aristocratic palaces. There’s one right in Queluz, and several within a 15-minute radius. And that’s before we mention Sintra, which is a breeze by road or …
Across the Tagus Estuary from Lisbon is Almada, a former industrial quarter that has been given a facelift since the 1990s. Today people make the crossing from the capital to dine with views of the river and Lisbon, or to unwind on the long chain of beaches on Almada’s Atlantic coast. Another reason to come …
A timeless city in Alentejo, Évora is a UNESCO Site steeped in Roman and medieval heritage. The city’s golden age came in the 1400s when Portugal’s kings chose it for their home, and Évora’s streets still recall that influx of nobility 500 years ago. The Romans were the first to settle the town, building its …