Rui Paula’s menu pays homage to the ocean it borders. Go there for an early dinner, to add the pleasure of a beautiful sunset. One of the most impressive restaurants in Portugal, Casa de Cha da Boa Nova ( casadechadaboanova.pt/en £££) was built by Pritzker prize-winner Alvaro Siza Vieira, right on the rocks by the Atlantic. The giant baroque stairway built of granite with whitewashed walls was devised in its zigzag form in 1722 as a meditative way of approaching an existing small shrine ( bomjesus.pt). Head inlandĪbout 45 minutes from the coast, on the forested slopes east of Braga, is the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte, Portugal’s most impressive religious sanctuary. The strong waves here are ideal for surfers, while in the southern part of the beach a small river runs into the sea, sometimes forming a lagoon, which children will enjoy. Protective wooden walkways lead through flower-scattered sand dunes to the vast expanse of sand that makes up Praia de Afife at Viana do Castelo. The historic centre is dominated by the 13th-century Monastery of Santa Clara, which overlooks the river. The lace museum is worth a visit, as is the 16th-century cathedral, for its ornate Manueline doorway. Now it is a tranquil fishing port known for its long tradition of lace-making. This small town was important as a shipbuilding centre in Portugal’s Golden Age of Discovery some 600 years ago. The capital of Minho folk culture, there is a thriving handicraft industry here. The main square, Praca da Republica, with its notable 16th-century Misericodia building, three arcades of which are supported by caryatids, is at the centre of the town’s winding streets. In a beautiful setting on the Lima estuary, the streets of this historic town are lined with opulent mansions in Manueline, renaissance and baroque styles, built using the wealth with which the 16th-century explorers returned from their seafaring travels. Head up the coast into the region of Minho, where life is still firmly rooted in tradition, with frequent folk festivals, street markets and bucolic countryside where ox-carts still rule.Ĭonsidered the birthplace of the nation, and home to medieval Guimaraes, declared Portugal’s first capital city in 1139, this area remains remarkably untouched by tourism and the 21st century. There are connections from multiple airports in the UK via Ryanair ( ), BA ( ), easyJet ( ) and TAP ( ), and the area is worth dallying in for a few days to enjoy the lovely beach at Foz, where the Douro river pours into the Atlantic Ocean, and to visit Porto’s wealth of ancient churches and contemporary museums. The country’s second-largest city, Porto, is where you fly to. The coast here is sometimes referred to as the Green Coast or Costa Verde, from the verdant vegetation that the wetter weather gives it. Within each region two standout towns have been highlighted, along with a nearby not-to-be-missed attraction, food and wine suggestions, and hotel recommendations. While Portugal is divided into seven counties or districts, the country has also been split into five larger separate tourist regions, which have been used here for simplification. The long coastline is extraordinarily diverse, from the mellow limestone cliffs of the Algarve to the dramatic granite mountains of the cooler north but wind your way along it and you will find Portugal, its history, its heart and its soul, in every curve of the shore. The words of the great 19th-century poet Fernando Pessoa perhaps say it best in “Portuguese Sea”: “God placed danger and the abyss in the sea / But he also made it heaven’s mirror.” Tales of those times still run in the veins of the Portuguese today, alongside the haunting melody of fado, which expresses saudade, or longing, for those who have set sail for distant lands. Portugal gazes outwards, its back turned to Spain, facing the seas it navigated to bring wealth to its shores. Trimming the western edge of mainland Europe, Portugal is a mere 135 miles (217km) wide, which means that its 1,000 miles or so of Atlantic coastline defines the country.
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