Not that anyone needs a reason to go to Portugal in February anymore - but one good reason is Carnaval, a four-day celebration beginning February 19, 2020. Parades and pageants have been part of Carnaval celebrations throughout Portugal for centuries. But in Funchal, the warm and sunny capital of Madeira, Carnaval festivities are a big deal. Read more →

Madeira is a semi-tropical island rising from sea level to over 6,000 feet. Its steep pitch gives the island six distinct climate zones. The ancient Laurissilva cloud forest at the highest elevations is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In fact, 2/3rds of Madeira is conservation land. It has mountain plains, valleys, high peaks, streams, rocky coastlines, and tidal pools. The island has a unique landscape accessed by a modern roadway system of new tunnels, and the older mountain roads they replaced that wind along the hillsides.  Read more →

Back in 1952, as Portugal marked 145 years since the French Invasions of the Napoleonic Wars, Raul Ferrão and José Galhardo penned a fado entitled "Lisboa não sejas francesa," or "Lisbon, do not be French," for a musical review. At the time, numerous shops and boutiques in Lisbon had French... Read more →

An amazing Carnival celebration is to be found on sunny Madeira Island, where celebrations go back centuries. Azores Airlines is offering round-trip package starting at $1,999 per person (incl. tax) double occupancy. The deal includes round trip air from Boston, seven nights hotel, breakfast, 4 tours, 3 lunches and a dinner. Wow. Read more →

One of Portugal's most colorful festivals is back in 2019, with centuries of pageantry and tradition! The “Festa dos Tabuleiros” has been scheduled to run from June 29th to July 8th, 2019 in the historic city of Tomar.  “Festa dos Tabuleiros,” or Festival of Trays, happens every four years or so and is unique in the world Read more →

Madeira’s volcanic nature is playing host to new outdoors adventures that fit right in:  Mountain biking– for example. Madeira has some impressive mountains, that until recently were not on many cyclists’ radar. Madeira has excellent dirt roads and paths to be explored on 2 wheels, with some very dramatic vistas to discover. Today, more visitors are seeing the island in this new and exhilarating way, with new packages, races and outfitters popping up to meet the demand. Other activities include canyoning, surfing, yoga, and boat and wine tours. Read more →

Ah, the World Cup is here again! As for players, Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best in the world today, and names like Pauleta, Eusebio, Figo and others are legends in the game. Read more →

The semitropical Portuguese island of Madeira lies in the Atlantic Ocean, 750 milessouthwest of Lisbon.  This paradise‘s climate is always warm in winter, but never too hot in summer, and with usual abundance of sun. Read more →

For an ancient nation, Portugal has its share of places with interesting names, which are often corruptions of ancient Roman or pre-Roman names. In some cases, the exact origin is lost Read more →

Portugal is full of luscious gardens from north to south, where visitors can catch a cool breeze on the warmest of days and, possibly, learn the secrets of Portugal's history. Read more →