Coimbra and thereabouts...
Coimbra has one of the oldest of Europe's universities and is portrayed in Porto's adage, extolling its own pretentions to be Portugal's work capital, as a place of study.
This calls for three comments. First, whereas there is much else that is pl... more - travel report by
davidx
Green and foggy Minho
This is the region where the country was born. Guimaraes is the birthplace of Portugal's first king, Alfonso Henriques. Also here the name Kingdom Portucale was used for the first time. It is place where the Reconqiusta against the Moors was launched. Liv... more - travel report by
louis
A great small schist village: Janeiro de Cima
JC is situated on the bottom of a valley, near Zêzere River. Around, you only find other villages and mountains (the nearest cities are Fundão and Castelo Branco, 40 and 60 km far away). So, this is a perfect place to take a rest and enjoy the nature. But... more - travel report by
carlagama
Madeira; Paradise or tourist trap? – Funchal area.
To my surprise I have found a number of Internet friends ignorant about Madeira’s very existence so let’s start basic. Geographically it’s an island off the coast of West Africa, north of the Spanish Canary Islands. Politically it is one of Portugal’s aut... more - travel report by
davidx
Not just a beach holiday place!
I saw the capital city in the dark. It was already fully decorated for Christmas, but the lights were not illuminated (mid November 2007). I started wandering about the city when the street lights came on. There were few people around. It rained a little.... more - travel report by
krisek
Madeira; Paradise or Tourist Trap? part 2...
I shall return to Funchal in the restaurant section but, generally, this will cover the rest of the island. We were using buses to/from Funchal, except for the trip to Monte, when we went up on the teleférico. As well as Monte, I shall deal with trips to... more - travel report by
davidx
3 ‘E’s of 2 ’A’s
I felt considerable sadness as I moved to the second phase of my holiday, leaving the lovely hilltop places of the Serra de São Mamede behind me for what I could only think of as the three Es. I was to realise quite quickly that although it was all very d... more - travel report by
davidx
Castles and Views – the north of Alentejo
The north of Alentejo is mostly covered by the Natural Park of the Serra de São Mamede. The height of the mountains here is not great by European, let alone world, standards but is very like the highest English mountains, in the region of 1000 metres. The... more - travel report by
davidx
A glimpse of lovely Minho
To many potential visitors the mainly poor weather of the winter and the dodgy weather prospects at any time are a deterrent – which saves the Costa Verde and Galicia in Spain from getting like the Algarve or the southern Costas of Spain, areas devoted al... more - travel report by
davidx
Lisbon, luscious and multi-levelled
BASIC CHARACTERISTICS: At river level or near enough is a large square, the Praça do Comércio with walls and entrances separating it from the Baixa. The square contains the ferry terminals giving short or longer crossings of the Tejo. The Baixa doesn’t co... more - travel report by
davidx
