Guides & Articles

Guide

From Castelo Branco to Madeira's Levadas in July

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.

14 Jun 2026 · Castelo Branco

Guide

Grilled Sardines in July: Lisbon and Setúbal on the Coals

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.

13 Jun 2026 · Lisbon

Guide

July in Viana do Castelo: Sardines, Arraiais, Real Festas

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.

12 Jun 2026 · Viana do Castelo

Guide

Skip the Algarve in July: Setúbal Has Better Beaches

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.

12 Jun 2026 · Setúbal

Guide

Ribeira Brava: Bananas, Sugar Cane and Madeira's Sweet Economy

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.

11 Jun 2026 · Ribeira Brava

Guide

Monção by the Water: Caldas and Minho Riverside Walks

For over a century, Monção has organised itself around thermal water that surfaces at 49ºC right in the centre of town. Add the Ecovia riverside path, kayaking to Melgaço, and Alvarinho tasted at the gate of the estate, and you have the most underrated itinerary in the Minho.

10 Jun 2026 · Monção

Guide

Ribeira Grande After Dark: Azorean Wine and Petiscos

Grilled limpets, six-month aged São Jorge cheese, Verdelho from Pico at 25 euros a bottle. A serious itinerary for an evening of petiscos in Ribeira Grande, no ceremony and no fluff.

09 Jun 2026 · Ribeira Grande

Guide

Sagres in Summer: Markets, Figs and Seasonal Fruit

At seven in the morning, before the northeast wind picks up, vans from Aljezur unload peaches, small melons and ripe white figs. An honest guide to buying seasonal fruit around Sagres, month by month, with real prices and what to cook after.

09 Jun 2026 · Sagres

Guide

Funchal's Best Summer Levada Walks: A Local Guide

Summer is, despite what the brochures say, the best time to walk Funchal's levadas. Fourteen hours of daylight, cool air at 1,000 metres, and waterfalls you can swim in. But only if you leave the house before 7:30am.

09 Jun 2026 · Funchal

Guide

Tomar's Festa dos Tabuleiros: An Honest Guide

Once every four years, Tomar fills with young women balancing towers of 30 loaves on their heads and streets carpeted in handmade flowers. An honest guide to seeing the Festa dos Tabuleiros without ending up sleeping in Abrantes.

09 Jun 2026 · Tomar

Guide

São João da Pesqueira: Almonds, Olives and Wine on the Plateau

Everyone passes through São João da Pesqueira on the way somewhere else. Mistake: this plateau town at 500 metres is one of the best Douro bases, with almond blossom in February, honest estates and half the tourists of Pinhão.

09 Jun 2026 · São João da Pesqueira

Guide

Sabrosa's Mateus Connection: Beyond the Palace Gardens

The Palace of Mateus is not in Sabrosa, it is in Vila Real, and the confusion has lasted decades. But Sabrosa's real Mateus connection, built from old vineyards, family quintas and the birthplace of Ferdinand Magellan, is worth far more than any bottle photograph.

08 Jun 2026 · Sabrosa