Festa dos Tabuleiros: Tomar’s colourful Festival of Trays
Thirty 400-gram bread rolls are weaved into a human-size, paper flower-covered tower balanced precariously atop the 748 women marching by. Hundreds of these flowery 1.5-metre high piles bob through the enchanting Central Portuguese riverside town of Tomar on the shoulders
Where to eat in Coimbra
At the centre of Central Portugal lies Coimbra, an ancient city with a young student heart. The food scene in Coimbra covers it all, from fine dining and chic restaurants to rooftop bars and late-night kebab shops. There are half
36 hours in Coimbra
You won't see the inside of Coimbra's most stunning building on this blog, or almost anywhere. So concerned is the leadership of Portugal's oldest — and for hundreds of years only — university with protecting the bibliophilic treasures enshrined on
Tile of the day: Step inside Capela de São Miguel in Coimbra
Having seen many, many tiled chapels it takes quite a lot to blow me away but the Capela de São Miguel in Coimbra is jaw-droppingly beautiful. It's definitely up there among the most beautiful tiles and breathtaking sights in Portugal.
Explore Monsanto, Portugal’s magical rock village
Wind whips my face and bells toll as I look out over the plains towards Spain, wondering what it was like to wait here endlessly for an attack. High on this rocky mountain top, standing on the walls of a
Tile of the day: Santarém Train Station
On the journey from Lisbon to Porto I often look out the window when we pass stations to see if the platforms and buildings have gorgeous hand-painted tiles. I finally had a journey finishing in Santarém, so naturally I took
9 best things to do in Figueira da Foz
Have you ever been ice skating on the beach? For Jorge’s birthday in January I wanted to get away somewhere north of Lisbon, ideally where his family in Aveiro could meet us for lunch and Jorge could enjoy a winter
10 things to do and see in Caldas da Rainha
Caldas da Rainha, a small city about one-hour drive north of Lisbon, is known for two things: hot springs and ceramics. Sometime in the 15th century, Portugal’s Queen Leonor established a hospital and church here, hence the name, which means “Queen’s
Tile of the day: Nazare’s Ermida da Memória
A tiny chapel perched on the edge of a cliff filled with tiles? This is Ermida da Memória, a little capela in the coastal city of Nazare that is loaded with religious legend.
11 best things to do and see in Aveiro
Aveiro is a petite old city where traditional brightly coloured moliceiro boats traverse a wide canals lined with picture-perfect pastel art nouveau buildings. University students clink beers in the sunshine, tourists snack on golden ovos moles sweets, fishermen bring in
