Lonely Planet Portugal (Travel Guide)

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Peak tourist season officially runs until mid-September, when ongoing warm weather ensures beaches remain packed. Slightly more convivial are adegas, usually decorated with wine casks and serving up hearty, inexpensive meals along with carafes of very affordable wine.

The baroque tower soars above the city rooftops and visitors can climb 225 steps to reach far-reaching city views from the top. Like a setting from a fairy tale, this historic hillside township is sprinkled with stone-walled taverns and lorded over by a multicolored palace. You’ll leave the crowds behind as you head to Estremoz and Vila Viçosa, two photogenic towns where everything seems to be made of marble (visit the quarry nearby to see why). Planning tip: For pure romance, time your visit for the late afternoon, and you can enjoy yet another fine spot to watch the sunset. If you don’t want them, just send them away – a polite "no thank you" ( não obrigado/a) will do the job.If you’re planning to do a roundtrip hike, then you should start in Espiunca and get the harder bits out of the way first. You can also ditch the car for the day and take a ferry ride to Ilha Deserta, a long, undeveloped island with a picture-perfect beachfront.

You can also explore the islands of the eastern Algarve via inexpensive ferries from Faro, Olhão and Tavira. Here, the meandering Rio Douro flows past towering hillsides covered by the steeply terraced vineyards that make up Europe’s oldest demarcated wine region.Egg yolks, sugar and occasionally almonds are the core ingredients of typical Portuguese pastries known as conventual sweets. As part of the Costa Vicentina (which continues up into the Alentejo), this chunk of the Algarve has some delightful little towns where you can stay while exploring the pristine coastline. Since becoming both an honorary Lisboeta (Lisbon resident) and Tripeiro (Porto dweller), I have learned some essentials about the country. The giant Atlantic waves that roll in during Nazaré’s rough winters were no secret to local surfers and fishers, but when North American surfer Garrett McNamara established a new World Record by riding a 24m (78ft) wave in 2011, the former fishing village on Portugal’s west coast jumped to international fame.