Manueline architecture

Nestling on the banks of the River Sizandro on the edge of the verdant Serra de Montejunto, the charming country town of Torres Vedras is an ancient place set deep in the heart of Portugal’s enchanting Estremadura region.

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.

Located in the heart of the tourist centre of Belém, Lisbon’s magnificent National Coach Museum (Museu Nacional dos Coches) provides visitors with a memorable portrayal of all the pomp and splendour Portugal exuded during its heyday.

Nestling on a rugged cape midway down the enchanting Alentejo coast, the vibrant port town of Sines is the ideal base from which to enjoy the very best of south-western Portugal.

North-east of Lisbon’s city centre in the ancient Xabregas district lies one of the most precious jewels in Portugal’s cultural crown, the magnificent Museu Nacional do Azulejo (National Tile Museum).

As its name implies, the lovely town of Caldas da Rainha (Queen’s Spa) an hour’s drive north of Lisbon in central Portugal preserves the eternal and loving memory of one of the country’s most popular queens – Leonor – whose … Read more

Located in the heart of the Ribatejo, one of the flattest and most extensive regions in Portugal, Golegã is a charming town in the centre of the country with a great horse-breeding and agricultural tradition.

Covering more than 100 hectares of prime terrain, Buçaco Forest rises majestically out of the coastal plain north of Coimbra to form one of the most luxuriant areas of woodland in the whole of Portugal.

The magnificent Convento de Cristo (Convent of Christ) in the historic town of Tomar in central Portugal is one of the most impressive religious complexes in the whole of southern Europe.

Surrounded by green fields studded with almond trees, the photogenic town of Tavira is one of the most attractive places in the Eastern Algarve.

Surrounded by one of the oldest state forests in the world, the lovely old city of Leiria was once the southernmost outpost of the early Portuguese kingdom at a time when Lisbon was still under Moorish occupation.

Portuguese painting first came to prominence in the 15th century. In 1428, when Jan van Eyck visited Portugal for the marriage of King João I’s daughter Isabella to Philip the Good, the Duke of Burgundy, it marked the beginning of a long and close … Read more

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

When visitors arrive in Lisbon‘s historic centre of Belém, the first building they see is the imposing Jerónimos Monastery, impressive for its sheer size and without doubt one of the most spectacular monuments in the whole of Europe.

Nestling on the northern slopes of the Serra de Borba mountains, the pretty town of Borba rises neatly above the vast plains in the heart of Portugal’s enchanting Alentejo region.

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.