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Reserva Natural do Sapal de Castro Marim e Vila Real de Santo António
Established in 1975, this nature reserve is Portugal’s oldest, covering 20 sq km of marshland and salt pans bordering the Rio Guadiana north of Vila Real. Important winter visitors include greater flamingos, spoonbills and Caspian terns; in spring it’s busy with white storks.The pa
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Museu Nacional do Azulejo
Housed in a sublime 16th-century convent, Lisbons Museu Nacional do Azulejo covers the entire azulejo (hand-painted tile) spectrum. Star exhibits feature a 36m-long panel depicting pre-earthquake Lisbon, a Manueline cloister with weblike vaulting and exquisite blue-and-white azulej
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Anta dos Coureleiros & Menhir da Meada
In the wild, boulder-strewn landscape around Castelo de Vide are dozens of ancient megaliths. The two most impressive are the Anta da Melriça, northwest of town, and the 7m-high Menhir da Meada, around 13km north of town. This is supposedly the tallest menhir in the Iberian Peninsu
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Lisbon Story Centre
This museum takes visitors on a 60-minute journey through Lisbons history, from its early foundation (pre-Ancient Roman days) to modern times. An audioguide and multimedia exhibits describe key episodes, including New World discoveries, the terrifying 1755 earthquake (with a vivid
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Museu do Abade de Baçal
Set in a restored 18th-century bishop’s palace, the Museu do Abade de Baçal is one of Portugal’s best regional museums. Its diverse collections include local artefacts from the Celtic and Roman eras, along with objects, paintings and photographs depicting daily life in Trás-os-Mont
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Igreja de São Vicente de Fora
Graça’s serene, gorgeous Igreja de São Vicente de Fora was founded as a monastery in 1147, revamped by Italian architect Felipe Terzi in the late 16th century, and devastated in the 1755 earthquake. Elaborate blue-and-white azulejos dance across almost every wall, echoing the curve
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Praça do Giraldo
The city’s main square has seen some potent moments in Portuguese history, including the 1483 execution of Fernando, Duke of Bragança; the public burning of victims of the Inquisition in the 16th century; and fiery debates on agrarian reform in the 1970s. Nowadays it’s still the ci
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Centro de Recuperação do Lobo Ibérico
There’s no need to be afraid of the wolves at the Centro de Recuperação do Lobo Ibérico located near Malveira, 10km east of Mafra. The centre is home to a pack of around 20 wolves that can no longer live in the wild. Set in a forested valley, the centre aims to boost the rapidly dw
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Mosteiro de Salzedas
With pink stone arches picturesquely mouldering in the sun, the Cistercian Mosteiro de Salzedas is located 3km up the Barosa valley from Ucanha in Vila Salzedas.This was one of the grandest monasteries in the land when it was built in 1168 with funds from Teresa Afonso, governess t
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Castelo do Montemor
Perched high atop a rugged hill 25km west of Coimbra, the glowering walls of the Castelo do Montemor-o-Velho dominate the surrounding marshland far out to the horizon. Whether seen from a distance or from atop the castle walls themselves, it’s easy to imagine this site as an early
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Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga
Set in a lemon-fronted, 17th-century palace, the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga is Lapa’s biggest draw. It presents a star-studded collection of European and Asian paintings and decorative arts. Keep an eye out for highlights such as Nuno Gonçalves’ naturalistic Panels of São Vicen
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Porto Santo Beach
Extending around 7.5km from the ferry port to the islands southernmost point, Ponta da Calheta, Porto Santos beach is nothing short of spectacular; in fact, its regularly voted one of Europes top ten stretches of sand (though its not actually in Europe, but never mind). The large g
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Jardim do Paço Episcopal
This delightful, unusual retreat next to the museum is the garden of the bishops palace, a baroque whimsy of clipped box hedges and little granite statues representing virtues, seasons, kings, saints, months and continents among other things. Notice that the statues of Portugal’s S
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Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis
Portos best art museum presents a stellar collection ranging from Neolithic carvings to Portugal’s take on modernism, all housed in the formidable Palácio das Carrancas. Requisitioned by Napoleonic invaders, the neoclassical palace was abandoned so rapidly that the future Duke of
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Jardim Público
For a lovely tranquil stroll, head to the light-dappled public gardens (with a small outdoor cafe) south of the Igreja de São Francisco. Inside the walls of the 15th-century Palácio de Dom Manuel is the Galeria das Damas , an indecisive hybrid of Gothic, Manueline, neo-Moorish and
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Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Nazaré
The 17th-century, baroque Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Nazaré, decorated with attractive Dutch azulejos , is on the Promontório do Sítio and holds the much-venerated sculpture of the Virgin, said to have been made by Joseph himself in Nazareth when Jesus was a baby: hence the name of
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Museu de Aveiro
This fine, if somewhat single-minded, museum in the former Mosteiro de Jesus opposite the Catedral de São Domingos owes its finest treasures to Princesa (later canonised) Joana, daughter of Afonso V. In 1472, 11 years after the convent was founded, Joana ‘retired’ here and, though
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Town Walls & Towers
Two crenulated towers (part of the fortifications made in the 14th century) face the river at the end of Rua Cardeal Saraiva. The Torre da Cadeia Velha now houses temporary art exhibitions and the turismo . Fragments of the walls survive behind and between this and the other tower,
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Cabo Girão
Around 3km west of Câmara de Lobos, Madeiras highest sea cliffs rise 580m to loom high over the village and the Atlantics sapphire expanse. Probably the second highest sea cliffs in Europe, the panorama from the viewing platform is nothing short of spectacular. Spectacular that is,
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Torre de Belém
Jutting out onto the Rio Tejo, this World Heritage–listed fortress epitomises the Age of Discoveries. Breathe in to climb a narrow spiral staircase to the tower, affording sublime views over Belém and the river. Francisco de Arruda designed the pearly-grey chess piece in 1515 to de
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