Travel to Portugal for one of Europe’s hidden tour gems!
The 16th century Belém Tower, the ceremonial gateway to Lisbon
It may be a small country, but travel to Portugal has a lot going for it given the nation’s long and colourful history, varied landscape of fine beaches, sweeping golden plains and green, often mountainous, river valleys and fascinating mix of lifestyles and traditions. It’s a Europe tour gem!
Celtic/Germanic in the north, more Mediterranean in the south, the Portuguese now have a state-of-the-art telecommunications system and sophisticated resorts (especially in the Algarve) but touring the still undeveloped rural hinterland shows not much has changed in the last hundred years or so.
A major world colonial power in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portuguese merchant ships travelled the globe, and Portugal’s music, architecture and of course, cuisine still show African and South American influences.
A certain faded grandeur and perhaps a nostalgia for the great days of the past seems to waft in from the sea and circle the plazas where the locals congregate in the evenings, for Portugal has always been a seafaring nation, and no matter how far inland you may be, the romantic memory of its far-ranging colonial history is never far away.
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Thank you for this article!
I have also been in Portugal twice (Madeira and Algarve) and it was an amazing experience!
Certainly it was a highlight trip for us too!