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Food and drink Lisbon
49 Reviews If you're one that loves sweets and a dessert especially after a meal, this one is for you. However, that is if you love the tropical fruit mango since this particular dessert, and very much a...
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local architecture Sintra
6 Reviews While the climate is described as Mediterranean, the low cloud descends the mountain, there is quite an eerie feel when walking the narrow streets and lanes. The rainy times are in autumn and spring...
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Events&Street Activities Évora
14 Reviews 5th June 2003 on the Largo Luis de Camoes. From June the 3rd to the 8th it took place in Evora the BIME-Bienal International Marioneta of Evora. Only puppet show and related arts. Puppet manipulators:...
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Festivals Lisbon
13 Reviews carnival is a festive grand celebration wherever, Lisboa is no exception. If you happenned to be there, its grand. yes busy even crowded but fun all around, recommended, see the official site in...
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Fado music Sintra
1 Review Fado first appeared in Portugal at the end of the eighteenth century, as a nostalgic form of song favoured by sailors. Its name derives from the Latin word fatum, meaning 'fate' or 'destiny', being...
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Main Square Activities -Praça do Girlado Évora
7 Reviews ok, now I know this looks like in a movie. but every now and then the National Portuguese bank here in Evora needs to fill in with cash. So here's all the action you can actually see on the street in...
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Useful information about Lisbon Lisbon
12 Reviews Azulejos are colourful ceramic tiles which are very popular in Portugal for decoration puposes. You find them inside and outside of houses, public buildings, monuments or metro stations. They often...
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fountains Sintra
3 Reviews I decided to walk up the steep hill to the Moorish Castle and walked past the Sabuga Fountain and noticed a couple of people filling up large water bottles and placing them in a van. I’m sure it was...
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Street scenes Évora
3 Reviews Don't be alarmed if you are stepping out from a restaurant or bar onto one of Evora's small, cobblestoned streets and suddenly you are confronted by a group of black-caped individuals. No, they are...
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Social interactions Lisbon
26 Reviews Yes, we were amazed at this public pissor on the main access street to the Castelo de Sao Jorge. As we walked up the street we noticed a head sticking up above a metal panel on the side of the...
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piriquitas Sintra
1 Review like many others portuguese locations Sintra has it's own and tipical pastry. at breakfast or in the afternoon on yur lunch time break yu should have to try - queijadinhas de sintra - or -...
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People Évora
4 Reviews After a long day's drive north from the southern Algarve coast, followed by a hot afternoon walking the busy streets of Evora, my wife and I were enjoying a relaxing sitdown in our cool ground floor...
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Fado music Lisbon
9 Reviews I was not familiar with Fado music outside of what I read in a travel guide, until I arrived in Lisbon. Fado is a beautiful and emotional musical art form based in Portugal. Usually there are guitar...
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Fair of São Pedro Sintra
1 Review This Market dates back to the time of the Christian Reconquest. In the time of Dona Maria I it was subjected to municipal regulations and is the most characteristic event of the kind in the Borough of...
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Street and house decoration Évora
2 Reviews It was a surprise for me to see these wonderful tiles, that are used in order to indicate the streets-names. You will find them mostly in the old part of Evora, within the medieval...
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Coffee and cafes Lisbon
6 Reviews The Portuguese have a real sweet tooth so you will find some of the best pastries and cakes in all the little cafes. The 'national pastry' is considered to be pasteis de nata, which is a delicious...
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Art-General Évora
5 Reviews Near Évora there is a small town called Estremoz. Estremoz is famous nationwide and also in other countries due to its white marble – it is called the “white gold of Estremoz”. I’ve read that...
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When you go to eat at a restaurant most will bring you bread, butter, sardine pate, olives, small cheese etc. at the beginning of the meal without you ordering it. You will be charged separately per person for these, the price for these is at the beginning of the menu. If you don't want them just say no thank you or make a little no sign and they will take them away.
Ingredients:Pastry:2 cups flour, plus more for rolling1 teaspoon salt2 tablespoons granulated sugar10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks/5 oz./141g) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes5 to 7 tablespoons ice waterCustard:1 tablespoon cornstarch1 1/2 cup heavy cream1 cup granulated sugar6 egg yolksInstructions:Make The Pastry:In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse the flour, salt and sugar to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the flour resembles coarse, uneven cornmeal, about 10 (1-second) pulses.Drizzle 5 tablespoons of the ice water over mixture. Pulse several times to work the water into the flour. Add the remaining water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and continue pulsing until the mixture develops small curds. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, shape it into a disc and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.On a lightly floured...
Portuguese tiles, known as azulejos, adorn the inside and outside of almost every home in Portugal. Although introduced to Iberia by Moors, the fashion continued after they left. The Moors restricted themselves arabesque geometric patterns of triangles, squares, and diamonds, probably because many of them belonged to the Sunni brach of Islam which prohibited images of living things.Portuguese and Flemish artists began to produce tiles in Lisbon in the 16th Century. Blue and yellow were the favorite color combination and tiles depicted mostly floral patterns or religious scenes. The ever expanding Portuguese empire provided increasingly more exotic themes and colors.Towards the end of the 17th Century the fashion changed and blue tiles became popular. This was probably to to the craze for blue and white porcelain from China, that was being imported into Europe at this time. This...
At a Banquet given by a rich Landowner in Barcelos the silver was stolen and one of the guests was accused of the theft. He was tried by the court and found guilty.In spite of overwhelming evidence against him he still protested his innocence. The magistrate granted the man a final chance to prove his case. Seeing a Cock in a basket nearby he said "If i am innocent the cock will crow" The cock crowed and the prisoner was allowed to go free.The Cockerel has now become a symbol of Portugal
Stretching up the Rio Douro in the north of Portugal into the Transmontana area is the Trás-os-Montes district. The soils are the bedrock of Portuguese wines, and the north is dominated by granite. The cultivated areas are also rich in schist which brings some astringency to the wines of this area. Due to the quite different micro-climates (altitude, sun exposition, temperature, rain) wide ranges of wine come from this region (Chaves, Valpaços, and Mirandês plateau). The region produces from somewhat coarse and very alcoholic wine to light sparkling and semi-sweet wine (Muscat). A label to try is Valle Pradinhos.Also very known from this region there is a bunch of good wine spirits (double or triple destilated aguardentes).This is a land of tradition with its own language -Mirandês- and peculiar folklore of Celtic (bagpipes), and pagan (carnival masquerades on winter solstice, the...
South and south east of Lisbon is the Terras do Sado area, where the sweet fortified Moscatel wines (fortified Muscat) of DOC Setúbal are produced on the limestone hills of the Serra da Arrábida. This is known as the best Moscatel in the country (although I strongly recommend the one from Favaios in the Douro region), and among the several available in the market for me Quinta da Bacalhôa is the best label. Moreover, if you are around the Quinta well deserves a visit.The most-planted grape in the area, however, is black -the late-ripening Castelão with a particular cedary elegance. The Castelão wines grown both in the ancient sands of Palmela and in the alluvial river flooded soil from the river Sado on which the city of Setúbal is located.Wine grapes have been cultivated here since roman times (although the region was much more important to salt production, as the name Alcácer do Sal...
The Ribatejo wine region, with 6 sub-regions, is to the east and inland from the Estremadura district covering to the north of the municipality of Tomar and then down to the district of the Alentejo. Wines from this whole region have been well known since the 12th C. as Santarém was capital of the kingdom for quite some time. Some good red wines can be found from this region due to its alluvial soil and temperate climate. The wines are tannic when young but after 5 years they become full-bodied and fruity with a slight spicy flavor.The vineyards of Azambuja and Cartaxo (like many other further down) are planted in two different types of soil. The first is the flood plains of the River Tejo and the second a 200 meter high calcareous clay soil. The red wine from the lower vineyards is ruby-colored, firm and fruity, whilst the higher vineyards produce a deeper color, rich and smooth wine....
The Dão wine region is located primarily on a plateau that is sheltered on three sides by the granite mountain ranges of Serra da Estrela, Serra do Caramulo and Serra da Nave, in the area of the Mondego and Dão rivers in the north central region of Portugal. This is the heart of the Beira Alta to the east of the Bairrada. This helps the area maintain its temperate climate away from the affects of the nearby Atlantic Ocean. The region experiences abundant rainfall in the winter months and long, warm dry summers leading up to harvest and the vineyards are planted on sandy well-drained soil on top of granite rock. Moreover, the vines are grown in the valleys on slopes generally starting at an altitude of 200 mts. up to about 500 mts. This altitude helps temper the heat and allows the grapes to retain their all-important natural acidity. In addition, the soils are primarily granites with a...
The Alentejo covers about one-third of the total wine growing area of Portugal and lies between Lisbon and the Algarve in the very south, and is well worth getting to know. This is a land of light, unrelenting sun, dryness, endless undulating plains, cork trees and oaks, wine and olive oil, bread sauces and lamb stews, coriander and purslane, big modern wines and old clay-pot fermented reds; good, hospitable folks.It is already established in producing some high quality red wines which have a bouquet of ripe fruits whilst remaining soft on the palate. Their white wines are pleasantly palatable and are not in the same category tending to be fruity and slightly acidic.Most of the wines are named after their respective towns and from the 7 categories I will highlight:- the good reds and whites from Borba even with the simple wines made at their Adega Cooperativa; labels to try Borba and...
Three Portuguese wines with the longest history are actually grown just outside the capital. Proximity to Lisbon, the Atlantic and the Tejo estuary trace the past, present and future of the Bucelas, Colares and Carcavelos winegrowing regions. Being so close to the capital, however, is the biggest threat to these tiny regions as they are constantly under pressure of being swallowed up by urban development. The region of Bucelas lies within the south Estremadura district, unusually situated on the fluvial plains bordering the Trancão river and Bemposta tributary, but which lend inimitable character to the wines. Vines have been grown in Bucelas for centuries which now produces some very good white wines as the "Arinto" grape grows well on this soil. The white wine is the one with the right to the controlled origin denomination and it is a wine with 11.5º, fragrant, dry, and velvety with a...
Lapa Palace Lisbon
4 Reviews and 206 Opinions Great weekend. Best hotel in Lisbon for gardens and outside pool 5* and so not cheap. Excellent...
Sheraton Porto Hotel & Spa Porto
2 Reviews and 303 Opinions I have no words to explain how much I liked the place. I paid 50 euros for a double room and What a...
Hotel Calheta Beach Madeira Island
1 Review and 219 Opinions Calheta has a marvelous marina and have the only beach of yellow sand. It´s situated in the West...
Reviews and photos of Portugal attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Portugal sightseeing.
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Q: hi guys, was jus postin this for sum help n sum advice, wats the night life like in albefuria in april time, im on about goin on ...
A: You meant Albufeira; isn't it?
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