When, last year in March I went to visit a friend in the Algarve, the only thing I insisted on doing while there, was hiking the Seven Hanging Valleys Trail. Luckily she was up for it, and we tackled it on what turned out to be our only day without rain. The trail takes one […]
Portugal abounds with castles. Some could have been lifted from fairy tales, others have been used in fantasy films to create the otherworldly, and then there are those which were essential for security when the border between Portugal and Spain were not as clearly defined as it is today. Vila do Touro castle falls under […]
What I would consider one of the most beautiful gardens in Portugal can be found in one of the most untouristy places in the country. Built by the Bishop of Guarda, João de Mendonça around 1720, the Episcopal Palace Garden or Jardim do Paço Episcopal in Castelo Branco, was part of a large agricultural complex […]
Founded in 1147, the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora is one of those gems in Lisbon that isn’t overrun with tourists. It was built outside (“fora”) the city walls, after Dom Afonso Henriques, Portugal’s first king, made a vow during the siege of Lisbon that he would commission the construction of a monastery dedicated […]
The medicinal waters of Termas do Cró, located 15km north of Sabugal in Central Portugal, in all likelihood have been used for their therapeutic properties in Roman times, but, although some ceramics and coins have been found in the vicinity, there is no concrete evidence of it. The oldest reference dates from as recent as […]
“When pale and sinking to the dreadful fall,You heard her quiv’ring lips on Pedro call;Your faithful echoes caught the parting sound,And Pedro! Pedro! mournful, sigh’d around.Nor less the wood-nymphs of Mondego’s grovesBewail’d the memory of her hapless loves:Her griefs they wept, and, to a plaintive rillTransform’d their tears, which weeps and murmurs still.To give immortal […]
“History is a never-ending chain of events, but it is hold together by strings. If we cut one of the strings, we can no longer take any event for granted.” – Rui Tavares Perhaps the most defining moment impacting and shaping Arraiolos’ history was a decree by King Manuel I, who inherited the Portuguese throne in […]
Not far from the historic village of Sortelha lies the ruins of a towering granite building. Visible just above the tops of some pine trees, as one approaches, and against the flank of the Serra da Pena, it can easily be mistaken for a scene from the pages of a fairy tale. The origin of […]
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