And it 's Portugal - again... This time the readers of Condé Nast Traveler magazine voted Portugal  "the best country to travel to" for 2022. “Portugal's location on the Atlantic Ocean has made it a paradise for those looking to savour authentic maritime life and culture. With long stretches of golden coast, villages nestled between rice fields and dunes, and architecture from the 16th-19th centuries, it is a country with much to recommend, especially the famous dishes of cod and grilled sardines, which have become synonymous with the region," the magazine wrote.  Portugal was also voted the 2nd friendliest country in Europe, after Ireland, by the readers of Condé Nast Traveler.

Highlights included  "charming village of Marvão with its 13th century walls," set in the Alentejo. The same region that a few weeks ago, Time Magazine rated on their World’s Greatest Places 2022 list.

The magazine said that the region was one of “Portugal’s most rural and least populated region—is dotted with picturesque towns separated by cork forests and olive groves. But its many new goings-on offer a contrast with its unhurried pace.”

The New York Times also  proclaimed the Alentejo as one of the 52 Places for a Changed World, a list that highlights places around the globe where travelers can be part of a solution. The piece points to the sustainable wine movement in the region, where sheep help clear wine fields, and water is used sparingly.

This came just a few weeks after Condé Nast Traveler started the year with  the Alentejo as “one the Best Destinations in the World for 2022.” Editor David Moralejo put it this way: “For me it’s a place of happiness. There are boutique hotels like São Lourenço do Barrocal and Dá Licença and olive groves, cork oaks, and infinite horizons. The road ends at Vicentine Coast National Park, a wild, protected coastline in southern Europe. A paradise for surfers, it has electrifying sunsets, but the icy waters stop it from ever getting too crowded.”

Travel + Leisure also named the walled village of Marvão one of the “top Under-the-radar European Villages to Visit,” saying “There are dramatic mountainside forts, and then there is Marvão, the king of them all. 

​​​Portugal's Alentejo is a sustainable destination, with its cork forests, protected Atlantic coast, and vast blue skies. Just an hour from Lisbon, the Alentejo has no big cities but is made up of fortified hill  towns with low, whitewashed farmhouses and  traditional crafts and foods: Explore cork forests, vineyards and fields of sunflowers. Romans, Moors, Greeks, Carthaginians have all been drawn to these landscapes and beauty. Discovering the traditional cuisine and delicacies as simple as dipping bread in our distinct local olive oil, sampling the wines and exploring the rolling plains, natural reserves and more than 85 miles of Atlantic coastline.