Your next chapter
Itineraries, places and ideas for your next escape. Find inspiration and practical details to travel at your own pace.
Page 15 / 72
Carnival is in February, the best weather is in May and October, and the unmissable party is Banho 29, when at midnight on August 28 the whole town walks into the sea. An honest Lagos calendar to dodge the queues and catch the right festivals.
Forget the formal eight-to-ten dinner. In Lagos, eating well is about rhythm: graze slowly, drink local Negra Mole, and move on when the glass runs dry. A walkable itinerary from afternoon to night, with real stops and proper wine.
Évora sits ninety minutes from the sea and is no sardine town. But in June, with the Santos Populares, the rule breaks: grill smoke fills the neighborhoods beyond the walls. Here's when to come, where to eat and why to skip the central square's tourist menus.
While the south simmers tourists, Viana do Castelo keeps its secret: an Atlantic that freezes and a wind that cools everything. From the ferry to Cabedelo to the natural pools of Praia Norte, the honest guide to a cool northern summer.
Beja is not conquered, it is inhabited slowly: a wheat plain, convents with a view, great bustards at dawn, and cafés that know your name by the second day. A guide for unhurried travellers in the Baixo Alentejo.
In July, any beach with easy parking is full by 11am. From wild Garrão to Vilamoura's marina, here's the honest guide to Loulé's beaches: when to arrive, where to eat cheaply, and where to escape when the sun turns brutal.
Rua Direita is the worst place to eat in Óbidos, and we tell you why. Where to drink ginjinha properly, which salt cod cake is worth the detour, and how to skip the chocolate-cup trap entirely.
From the Pousada inside the castle to the farms of the Oeste, where you sleep in Óbidos decides the trip you'll have. The golden rule: at least one night inside the walls, to catch the village at seven in the morning, all to yourself.
Pinhão was not built for kids, but with a river beach, a tiled train station and a boat on the Douro, there is more to do with children than you would think. The honest guide, with no pretending it is Disneyland.
Came to Pinhao for surf? You are 130 km from the sea, deep in the Douro. Good news: the river beach, the cruise to the Tua and the N222 beat any wave. An honest guide for getting wet, watching, or just driving.
Pinhão has no sea, it has something better: river beaches of jade-green water between vineyard terraces. The trick is knowing the right hours and the right coves to dodge the August hordes.
By midday the granite cobblestones give back all the heat they soaked up in the morning and climbing to the Castle becomes a punishment. But there is a right rhythm to a July day in Lisbon: rise early, hide in the museums and gardens at noon, and come back out when the sun softens.