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Itineraries, places and ideas for your next escape. Find inspiration and practical details to travel at your own pace.
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In Santana, a three-euro plastic miniature thatched house sells a few metres from the real wood-and-thatch originals still standing. Worth knowing the difference before you buy.
In September, the Algarve trades crowds for golden afternoon light. In Loulé, the sea is still 21°C, restaurant tables no longer have a two-hour wait, and the castle can be visited without bumping into anyone.
Before it became a World Surfing Reserve, Ericeira was a fishing town with its own charter and a king fleeing into exile. A walking route through the old town, from the Pelourinho to Forte de Nossa Senhora da Natividade, with a mandatory stop for tinned fish and wine.
Ericeira is known for surfing, but it was a fishing village long before that: fish stew, grilled fish and hand-harvested percebes still tell that story. A food route between the Pelourinho, the working harbor, and a table that takes tinned fish seriously.
Ericeira is more than surfboards and toasted sandwiches: there is a stone pillory, an eighteenth-century church, and a fort still watching the Atlantic, all a few minutes from the beach where everyone learns to catch their first wave.
Everyone knows the packed Praia de São João in August, but Costa da Caparica has thirteen kilometres of sand and a little train that quietly carries locals down to the empty beaches near Fonte da Telha. Dinner with your feet over the water in Cacilhas follows, then drinks in Almada Velha.
The cacilheiro ferry takes ten minutes, costs a little over a euro, and leads to an Almada that never tries to be Lisbon. Riverside dinner at Ponto Final, serious wine at Carmen, Irish beer at Corkman, and proper cocktails at Ophelia, all before the last boat home.
On the other side of the Tejo, a glass of wine still costs three euros and the view of Lisbon is free. A guide to Almada for anyone who wants to see it all without paying capital-city prices.
An evening in Almada unfolds in four stops: unpretentious beer, serious wine, polished cocktails, and grilled fish while Lisbon turns orange across the river. All within walking distance, at half the Lisbon price.
On Santa Maria, the oldest and cheapest island in the Azores, sleeping well without overspending is entirely possible if you know where to look. From rural stays like Quinta do Falcão to free views at Miradouro da Macela, here's how to make every euro in Vila do Porto count.
Leiria isn't known for cycling, but it has a centuries-old flat, shaded pine forest for beginners and real hills toward Fátima for stronger riders. Two paces, one municipality.
In September the sea off Funchal peaks at its warmest, tour buses vanish from the viewpoints, and the levadas go back to fitting one hiker at a time. It's the window locals quietly keep to themselves.