Sintra celebrates all year
The hilltop town about 40 minutes’ drive from Lisbon is celebrating 30 years of Unesco world heritage status. Sintra was the first European site listed as a cultural landscape, thanks to its fairytale architecture set among lush parks and gardens. There are 30 events taking place throughout the year, especially aimed at young people, culminating in the Sintra PH30 festival in December. Initiatives include outdoor activities such as geocaching, orienteering, mountain biking, hiking and running; escape rooms, murder mysteries and ghost experiences in and around the town’s historic buildings; behind-the-scenes visits to restoration sites and conservation projects; and live music and talks.
ph30.parquesdesintra.pt
Lisbon’s answer to Tate Modern
The Macam modern art gallery opened last month in an enormous 18th-century former palace close to the 25 April Bridge on the north bank of the River Tagus. The gallery displays one of the best private art collections in Portugal – the collector, Armando Martins, bought his first original piece in 1974 and now has more than 600 Portuguese and international artworks from the 19th century onwards, by artists including Paula Rego, Marina Abramović and Olafur Eliasson. The complex also comprises a 64-room, art-filled hotel with library, plus a modern extension, as well as a restaurant, cafe and shop. And the former chapel is a live performance space and bar.
Exhibitions from £5, free entry on the first Sunday of the month, macam.pt
Up-and-coming Costa Verde
The Costa Verde in north-west Portugal, between Porto and the Spanish border, is being tipped as an emerging holiday destination. More operators are offering walking and cycling trips to the region, and the villa rental company Solmar Villas, which has more than 2,000 villas across 30 destinations, launched 22 properties there last year and is expanding. The area is less touristy and more tranquil than the Algarve, great for active travellers and easily reached from Porto. It boasts quiet beaches and surf spots along the Emerald Coast, while inland there are pine forests, rivers and hills, and vineyards producing vinho verde. Solmar recommends the towns of Vieira do Minho and Esposende as good bases for hiking and surfing/watersports respectively.
More information at lonelyplanet.com
Get creative in the Alentejo
The 1930s O Val farmhouse, on a large estate between Estremoz and Monforte in the Alentejo, has been restored and reopened as a holiday rental and retreat venue. There are five double bedrooms and lots of communal spaces, including an outdoor dining room; a garden with fruit trees, flowers and herbs, surrounded by olive groves, cork and holm oak trees; and a pool. The former cattle handling area is now a hilltop studio space for creative workshops and retreats, from textiles to ceramics to cooking. Dates for workshops and retreats will released soon.
€830 a night, sleeps 10, o-val.pt
Ebike across Portugal
The tour operator Responsible Travel has noticed a growing interest in Portugal over the past three years, with cycling the most popular type of trip on the mainland. In response, it has launched two new ebiking trips this year. One is a seven-night self-guided tour through the Douro Valley, including a boat trip and the chance to stop at vineyards for tastings. The other is an eight-night, guided tour around the Atlantic Ring in central Portugal. Participants cycle alongside the Mondego, Dão and Vouga Rivers and the Atlantic coast, stopping at historic cities such as Coimbra, Viseu and Aveiro.
From €1,490 for eight nights B&B, including guide, luggage transfer and one dinner, responsibletravel.com
Walk the Atlantic coastal path
Ramble Worldwide has a new self-guided holiday walking the Rota Vicentina, a long-distance coastal path from Santiago do Cacém to the Cape St Vincent in south-west Portugal. Walkers will traverse beaches, coastal trails and clifftops, staying at five towns along the way. The difficulty level is classed as moderate – walks are between 8½ and 14½ miles a day, including some hills, taking about six or seven hours (on some days there is a shortcut option). On day four, there is a change of scene when the route heads inland to Aljezur, a medieval market town with a ruined Moorish castle.
From £639 for seven nights’ B&B, including transfers and luggage transport, from April to November. rambleworldwide.co.uk
Albufeira for foodies
Portugal’s national gastronomy day will be celebrated on 26 July in Albufeira, a resort city in the Algarve. The annual event showcases regional specialities and this year the focus is bivalves, particularly razor clams and cockles, which are central to many regional dishes. Albufeira is perhaps better known for the bars along its strip – but there are also two Michelin-listed restaurants here: Vila Joya (which has two stars) and Al Quimia. For more relaxed spots specialising in seafood, head along the coast to smaller towns such as clam capital Olhão, Tavira and Alvor.
More information portugalresident.com
Surf and yoga retreat
Portugal is a prime European surfing destination: its long coastline picks up a variety of Atlantic swell, from gentle rollers to giant breaks. Eco Yoga Surf, which has been running Drift retreats in Jersey since 2017, is holding its first retreat in the country this year. Drift Portugal is based at a surf villa in Arrifana, on the south-west coast. The programme includes meditation and energising vinyasa flow every morning, surfing at different spots each day, and relaxing yoga nidra at night, with optional beach hikes and workshops on ocean literacy and ecosystems. The villa has a swimming pool and fire pit, and healthy, plant-based meals are included. Suitable for all levels.
£1,195 for six nights, 12-18 October, driftretreat.co.uk
A perfect night’s sleep in Porto
A Portuguese hotel group inspired by the Japanese philosophy of kodawari, (“the uncompromising and relentless pursuit of perfection”) is opening its first property, Kodawari Flores, on 1 May on Porto’s Rua das Flores, and promises “the best sleep ever”. A second hotel is planned in the same city and a third in Lisbon. In its pursuit of sleep perfection, the hotel has beds by Swedish company Hästens, and bedding by Pato Rico and weighted blankets by Blanky, both Portuguese brands. Guests can book guided tours to taste port and a pastel de nata, listen to fado, visit FC Porto and more.
Doubles from £141, opens 1 May, kodawariresidences.com
New cottages in the Algarve
New holiday cottages have opened on a 19th-century farm in the Ria Formosa nature reserve in the Algarve. Some of Quinta do Pinheiro’s two- and three-bedroom properties have courtyard gardens or roof terraces. They share a pool and garden, with an avocado orchard and vineyard beyond. This summer, Amsterdam-based chef Ben van Geelen will cook for guests. The cottages are between the river and sea, with sandy beaches on one side and marshland, salt pans and small islands on the other – ideal for spotting white storks, flamingoes and other birds.
From €300 a night for a two-bedroom cottage for four, quintapinheiro.com
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