The Best of Portugal Centuries
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05_181867 ch01.qxp 1/15/08 6:22 PM Page 4 1 The Best of Portugal Centuries ago, Portugal was a pioneer of worldwide exploration. Until recently, how- ever, it was never as successful in attracting visitors to its own shores. Outside of greater Lisbon, the Algarve, and the island of Madeira, Portugal remained unknown and undiscovered by the mainstream visitor for many decades. Today’s travelers are beginning to realize that Portugal was unjustly overlooked. It offers sandy beaches, art treasures, flavorful cuisine, a unique form of architecture (Manueline), charming handicrafts, a mild climate, moderate hotel rates, and polite and friendly people. Only 2 million annual visitors came to Portugal in the late 1970s. The number swelled to 20 million in the mid-1990s, and an explosion of hotel and resort building has kept pace. Today Portugal attracts some 22 million visitors annually. Despite its small size—225km (140 miles) wide and 612km (380 miles) long— Portugal is one of the most rewarding travel destinations in Europe. Exploring its towns, cities, villages, and countryside will likely take longer than expected because there is so much richness and variety along the way. The people, whose warmth is legendary, inhabit a land of extraordinary variety. You’ll see almond trees in the African-looking Algarve; cork forests and fields of golden wheat in Alentejo; ranches in Ribatejo; narrow, winding streets in the Alfama in Lis- bon; ox-drawn carts crossing the plains of Minho; and vineyards in the Douro. Azaleas, rhododendrons, and canna grow for miles on end; the sound of fado music drifts out of small cafes; windmills clack in the Atlantic breezes; sardine boats bob in the bays; and gleaming whitewashed houses glisten in the sun. And the sea is never far away. The following list is merely a jumping-off point for the discoveries, like those by the mariners of old, that you’ll eventually make on your own in Portugal. 1 Frommer’s Favorite Portugal Experiences • Hiking in the Algarve: Portugal’s and Monchique, where eroded river incredible physical beauty makes it a valleys have changed little since the spectacular place for outdoor activi- Moorish occupation. See chapter 9. ties. In theCOPYRIGHTED southern Algarve region’s • Pousada-Hopping: MATERIALAfter World War low-lying lagoons and rocky high- II, the Portuguese government recog- lands, the panoramas extend for miles nized that the patrimony of its great over the nearby ocean. Especially past was desperately in need of reno- rewarding is trekking through the ter- vation. It transformed dozens of ritory near Sagres, which has retained monasteries, palaces, and convents its mystical hold on journeyers since into hotels, honoring the historical it was known as the end of the world. authenticity of their architectural Other worthwhile hikes include the cores. Today’s travelers can intimately footpaths around the villages of Silves experience some of Portugal’s greatest 05_181867 ch01.qxp 1/15/08 6:22 PM Page 5 FROMMER’S FAVORITE PORTUGAL EXPERIENCES 5 architecture by staying in a pousada, expanses of any coastal road in north- part of a chain of state-owned and ern Portugal. -operated hotels. The rooms are often • Fishing in Rich Coastal Waters: Por- far from opulent, and the govern- tugal’s position on the Atlantic, its ment-appointed staffs will probably (largely) unpolluted waters, and its be more bureaucratic than you’d flowing rivers encourage concentra- like. Nonetheless, pousada-hopping tions of fish. You won’t be the first to rewards with insights into the Portu- plumb these waters—Portugal fed gal of long ago. itself for hundreds of generations • Playing Golf by the Sea: British mer- using nets and lines, and its maritime chants trading in Portugal’s excellent and fishing traditions are among the wines imported the sport of golf most entrenched in Europe. The mild around 1890. Until the 1960s, it weather allows fishing year-round for remained a diversion only for the very more than 200 species, including vari- wealthy. Then an explosion of interest eties not seen anywhere else (such from abroad led to the creation of at as the 2m-long/6-ft. scabbard). The least 30 major courses. Many courses country’s rivers and lakes produce lie near Estoril and in the southern three species of trout, black bass, and Algarve. The combination of great salmon; the cold Atlantic abounds in weather, verdant fairways, and azure sea bass, shark, tope, grouper, skate, seas and skies is almost addictive (as if and swordfish. golf fanatics needed additional moti- • Trekking to the End of the World: vation). For medieval Europeans, the south- • Swooning to Fado: After soccer, fado western tip of Portugal represented (which translates as “fate”) music is the the final frontier of human security national obsession. A lyrical homage and power. Beyond that point, the to the bruised or broken heart, fado oceans were dark and fearful, filled assumes forms that are as old as the with demons waiting to devour the troubadours. Its four-line stanzas of bodies and souls of mariners fool- unrhymed verse, performed by such hardy enough to sail upon them. legendary stars as Amalia Rodriguez, Adding Sagres and its peninsula to capture the nation’s collective uncon- the Portuguese nation cost thousands scious. Hearing the lament of the of lives in battle against the Moors, fadistas (fado singers) in clubs is the and getting there required weeks of best way to appreciate the melancholy travel over rocky deserts. Making a dignity of Iberia’s western edge. pilgrimage to this outpost is one of • Finding a Solitary Beach: Portugal the loneliest and most majestic expe- has long been famous for the glamour riences in Portugal. Come here to pay and style of the beaches near Estoril, your respects to the navigators who Cascais, Setúbal, and Sesimbra. More embarked from Sagres on journeys to recently, the Algarve, with its 200km death or glory. Half a millennium (124 miles) of tawny sands, gorgeous later, the excitement of those long- blue-green waters, and rocky coves, ago voyages still permeates this lonely has captivated the imagination of corner. See chapter 9. northern Europeans. While the most • Losing It at a Spa: Compared to the famous beaches are likely to be very sybaritic luxury of spas in Germany crowded, you can find solitude on the and France, Portuguese spas are sands if you stop beside lonely underaccessorized, and by California’s 05_181867 ch01.qxp 1/15/08 6:22 PM Page 6 6 CHAPTER 1 . THE BEST OF PORTUGAL frenetic standards, they’re positively the heart of the northern city of Porto sleepy. Still, central and northern Por- lies Vila Nova de Gaia, the headquar- tugal share about half a dozen spas ters of the port-wine trade since whose sulfur-rich waters have been the 1600s. From vineyards along considered therapeutic since the days the Douro, wine is transported to of the ancient Romans. Luso, Monte “lodges” (warehouses), where it is Real, and Curia are the country’s most matured, bottled, and eventually famous spas, followed closely by Cal- shipped around the world. More than das do Gerês, Vimeiro, and São Pedro 25 companies, including such well- do Sul. Don’t expect the latest in cho- known names as Sandeman, main- reographed aerobics and spinning tain port-wine lodges here. Each classes; instead, sink into communion offers free guided tours, always end- with nature, rid your body of the tox- ing with a tasting of one or two of the ins of urban life, and retire early every house wines. The tourist office in night for recuperative sleep. Porto will provide you with a map if • Tasting & Touring in Port Wine you’d like to drive along the Douro to Country: Across the Rio Douro from see the vineyards. See chapter 12. 2 The Best Towns to Visit • Sintra: Since the Moorish occupa- peace. Their story was at first dis- tion, Portuguese kings and nobles counted and then embraced by a have recognized this town’s irresistible church hierarchy under assault by the charm. You’ll find a denser concen- ravages of World War I. Later, 70,000 tration of beautiful villas and gardens people who were assembled on the here than you’ll find anywhere else in site claimed to witness miracles. Portugal. At least five major palaces Today Fátima is the most-visited and convents are tucked amid the pilgrimage site in Iberia, home to lush vegetation. See chapter 6. dozens of imposing churches and • Óbidos: This town is the most per- monuments. See chapter 8. fectly preserved 13th-century village • Évora: This is one of the country’s in central Portugal. Its historical most perfectly preserved architectural authenticity is the primary concern of gems. A well-preserved ancient Ro- the population of more than 5,000. man temple rises across the street For 600 years, Óbidos was the per- from convents and monasteries that sonal property of Portuguese queens, flourished when the kings of Portugal a symbolic love offering from their used this town as their capital in the adoring husbands. Óbidos has always 12th century. These buildings com- breathed romance. See chapter 8. bine with remnants of the Moorish • Nazaré: This folkloric fishing village occupation to form one of the most in central Portugal produces wonder- alluring, if not largest, architectural ful handicrafts. The town has a strong medleys in Europe. See chapter 10. sense of traditional culture that’s dis- • Tomar: Beginning in the 12th cen- tinctly different from that of nearby tury, the Knights Templar and later communities. See chapter 8. the Knights of Christ (two warlike • Fátima: In 1913, an apparition of the and semi-monastic sects) designated Virgin Mary appeared to three shep- Tomar as their Portuguese headquar- herd children from Fátima, who were ters.