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Curated itineraries, local tips and inspiration for your next adventure in Portugal.
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.
Once a year, when the calendar drops a Friday onto the 13th, Montalegre fills with black cloaks and burning spirits beside the castle. Here is how to do the Witches' Night right, without freezing or losing your bed.
In July, Castelo Branco turns into an oven and everyone dreams of running water and real shade. Madeira's levadas deliver, but only if you rise early, climb high and flee the scorched south. An honest guide, with the head torch you will need and the trails actually worth your time.
Everyone eats sardines on the 13th of June. Mistake: that is when the fish is still lean. The fat sardine, the one that drips on the coals, is the July one. Here is where to eat it well in Lisbon and Setúbal, without paying tourist prices.
The famous saints' festivals end in June and Viana's huge Agonia isn't until August, but July is when the Minho really parties: village arraiais announced by rockets, sardines on cornbread, caldo verde at midnight. Here's how to find them from Viana do Castelo, plus beaches for the days and fado for the quiet nights.
While half the country sweats in traffic on the road to the Algarve, Praia dos Galapinhos, named Europe's most beautiful beach in 2017, sits 45 minutes from Lisbon waiting for anyone willing to walk ten minutes. Here is how to trade July in the Algarve for the Arrábida and never look back.
In Ribeira Brava, banana terraces run downhill until they nearly touch the pebble beach, and a former cane spirit distillery now houses the island's best ethnographic museum. A sweet itinerary along Madeira's south coast, from sugar history to bolo de mel.