Portugal Travel Guide || The Best of Portugal Online

Thank you for visiting the Portugal Travel Guide, the popular webzine for savvy travellers.
Scroll down for a range of articles about where to go and what to see and do in Europe's sunny south-westernmost country.
We hope you enjoy what you read and wish you a very pleasant stay in Portugal.

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Father of the Nation

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Published: 17 November 2018

Written by MWH

One of the most legendary and influential figures of Portugal’s long and chequered history is Afonso Henriques, the country’s first king.

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Coast to Coast

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Published: 16 November 2018

Written by MWH

Bordering the south-western edge of the Iberian Peninsula, with around half of its periphery surrounded by water, Portugal's shoreline has been a source of attraction as well as a gateway to the rest of the world for hundreds of years.

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The Brides of St Anthony

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Published: 06 September 2018

Written by MWH

One of the most joyful expressions of love and happiness can be witnessed in the faces of the Noivas de Santo António (Brides of St Anthony) who take their wedding vows in the hallowed setting of Lisbon’s magnificent Sé Cathedral each June.

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All the Grace of the Guadiana

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Published: 01 November 2018

Written by MWH

Running the length of Portugal’s south-eastern border with neighbouring Spain, the River Guadiana rises up from the heart of the Spanish province of Albacete at an altitude of 1,700 metres before meandering its way through some of the most picturesque landscapes in the whole of the Iberian Peninsula, eventually spilling out into the Atlantic Ocean at the border town of Vila Real de Santo António.

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The Intricate Art of Scrimshaw

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Published: 03 October 2018

Written by MWH

A very popular form of artistic expression in the 19th century, scrimshaw is largely synonymous with the whaling heritage of the Azores islands, but the tradition has all but disappeared due to the diminishing supply of whale teeth.

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Floral Splendour

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Published: 28 October 2018

Written by MWH

With its tilting terrain and subtropical climate, Madeira’s flower power ranges from orchids tottering on three-foot-long stems and bougainvillea in bursting shades of red and purple. Delve deeper and you’ll find frangipani, an icon of the tropics, roses and carnations of all colours, bird-of-paradise flowers (strelitzia reginae), lilies, geraniums and the indigenous blue Madeiran pride.

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Lisbon's Favourite Tipple

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Published: 24 October 2018

Written by MWH

One of the more unusual features in the streets around Rossio, Lisbon's bustling central square, are the small bars with their dated interiors selling ginjinha, the local name for morello cherry brandy.

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The Panels of St Vincent

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Published: 01 December 2018

Written by MWH

Portugal’s most acclaimed piece of art is the six-panelled painting by Nuno Gonçalves depicting a group of fifty-eight people assembled together as a monumental and somewhat solemn representation of Portugal’s royal family and a vast cross-section of Portuguese society in the 15th century.

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The Highest of Portuguese Flyers

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Published: 15 November 2018

Written by MWH

Charles Lindbergh might have received global recognition for his solo air crossing of the Atlantic in 1927, but it was two Portuguese pilots - Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral (pictured left and right, respectively) - who had previously set the pace five years earlier with their historic journey from Portugal to Brazil, the world’s first-ever flight over the South Atlantic.

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Liquid Gold

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Published: 25 October 2018

Written by MWH

The Phoenicians first brought olive trees across the Mediterranean to Portugal and the Romans were very successful in cultivating the groves and pressing the olives to attain the precious oil. Today, olive trees are a regular feature of the Portuguese landscape, with the annual harvest taking place midway between the autumnal grape-gathering period and the Christmas festive season.

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The Last Old Place

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Published: 09 November 2018

Written by MWH

Latin but not Mediterranean, cosmopolitan but not over-crowded, Portugal is a country where a large percentage of the population lives as people have always lived - in small, peaceful villages far away from noisy traffic and the hustle and bustle of modern life.

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The Flying Man

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Published: 30 October 2018

Written by MWH

One of the most inventive characters of the 18th century must surely have been Bartolomeu Lourenço de Gusmão, the Brazilian-born genius who created the earliest known flying machine he christened the Passarola, a fire-powered aircraft which he showcased to Portugal's king and queen in Lisbon's Terreiro do Paço square on the 8th of August 1709.

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Portugal Travel Guide

Father of the Nation

Coast to Coast

The Brides of St Anthony

All the Grace of the Guadiana

The Intricate Art of Scrimshaw

Floral Splendour

Lisbon's Favourite Tipple

The Panels of St Vincent

The Highest of Portuguese Flyers

Liquid Gold

The Last Old Place

The Flying Man

Contents

North

Lisbon

Azores

Madeira

South

Centre

Food & Wine

Features

General Info

Top Stories

Lisbon's Ancient Origins

The Historic Town of Tomar

Gateway to the Azores

The Atlantic City of Funchal

A Piece of Maritime History

Joomla! Debug Console

Session

Profile Information

Time

Memory

Memory Usage

Database Queries

7 Queries Logged 11.38 ms

7 Query Types Logged, Sorted by Occurrences.

SELECT Tables:

OTHER Tables: