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Curated itineraries, local tips and inspiration for your next adventure in Portugal.
Porto is the perfect launchpad for the Caminho de Santiago in May: long days, ideal temperatures, and albergues that haven't hit summer capacity yet. Two routes, one destination, and the best food in Portugal along the way.
The Episcopal Palace Garden hides a diplomatic insult in stone: the statues of Spanish kings are deliberately smaller than the Portuguese ones. It's that kind of detail that makes Castelo Branco a mandatory stop between Lisbon and Serra da Estrela, with silk embroidery recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage and slow-cooked kid goat worth the detour.
Santarém claims the title of Portugal's gastronomy capital, and between the sopa da pedra, morcela de arroz, and pastéis de feijão, it's hard to argue otherwise. A practical guide to what to eat, when to visit, and what to expect to pay.
Santarém has been Portugal's gastronomy capital since 1980, but the best places to eat aren't in the guidebooks. From torricado at Casa dos Torricados to the four-generation Taberna do Quinzena, this is the guide to eating like a local in Ribatejo's food heartland.
Santarém is less than an hour from Lisbon, yet almost nobody puts it on their itinerary. Big mistake. Between Gothic churches you can visit without queues, riverside eel stew, and the country's biggest food festival, the Ribatejo capital deserves more than a thirty-minute viewpoint stop.
Santarém has a diocesan museum worth every cent of its €4 admission, a medieval tower with free entry and panoramic views, and at least one space that will probably be closed when you arrive. Here's the honest itinerary.
Santarém calls itself Portugal's gastronomy capital, yet most travellers skip it entirely, their loss. At Taberna do Quinzena, open for over 150 years on Rua Pedro de Santarém, a lunch of salt cod with chestnuts and stone soup runs under €20. This is how locals actually eat.
May in Guarda sits at the perfect crossroads of winter and spring, and the table reflects it. From roast kid to requeijão with honey, from the first Fundão cherries to months-old cured meats, this is your guide to eating at Portugal's highest city when the highlands wake up.
In May, São Miguel is at its finest: empty trails, lagoons full from winter rains, and Furnas cozido without the queue. The practical guide to exploring the Azores before summer crowds descend, from Sete Cidades to the pineapple greenhouses.
Gerês's famous waterfalls draw crowds, but a 20-minute walk along a forgotten levada in Pincães, or hidden in the Mata da Albergaria with zero signage, there are cascades you'll probably have entirely to yourself. A practical guide to finding them.
Sines isn't just beaches and a castle. The walk from the historic center to the industrial port zone at sunset is one of the most striking visual experiences on the Alentejo coast, cranes against an orange sky, container ships in the bay, and the refinery lit up at dusk.
In Ponte de Lima, the best evening starts with a glass of Loureiro by the river and ends with aged bagaço watching the lights on the bridge. In between, there's hand-carved presunto, pica-no-chão, and red vinho verde that most visitors never try.