Find your next good idea
A city, a flavour, somewhere new. Portugal begins with your curiosity.
Torre de Moncorvo
Torre de Moncorvo
Câmara de Lobos
Tavira
Tavira
Tavira
Angra do Heroísmo
Angra do Heroísmo
Angra do Heroísmo
Vinhais
Ericeira
Ericeira
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Santana, on Madeira's rain-soaked north coast, nearly 1,880mm of annual rainfall shaped the island's famous triangular thatched houses. A walking route through town, from the parish church to the Núcleo de Casas Típicas, with levadas and good beds along the way.
In August, Lisbon cooks and the queues wrap around the block. In September, highs drop to a comfortable 26-27°C, locals head back to school and work, and suddenly there is a free table at A Brasileira without the wait. This three-day itinerary shows how to use that window, from the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga to real fado at O Faia.
You searched 'Fátima nightlife' and ended up here. The truth: there are no bars or clubs, but there is a candlelight procession every single night that fills the Sanctuary esplanade better than any party ever could.
Everyone passes through Setúbal on the way to Tróia and skips the city sitting between the Sado and the Arrábida hills. From the fish market to a hilltop castle, and a no-frills bar by the docks, this is the Setúbal you walk, not the one you drive through.