The castle of Mértola is located on the highest point of the village. Even though the castle is of Muslim origin, the current building dates from a reconstruction carried out by the knights of the Order of Santiago after the village was taken by the Christians. The most notable feature of the castle is its 30 meter-high keep tower, finished around 1292, which has an inner hall covered with Gothic vaulting. The defences include a city wall, which still encircles the village. Read more →
Travel
Portugal will welcome travelers from the United States on June 15. And, direct flights are resuming on TAP Portugal, United, Azores Airlines and Delta from US gateway cities, too. Read more →
Setúbal, is set on the northern bank of the Sado river estuary, about 26 miles south of Portugal's cool capital, Lisbon. A colony of dolphins now lives in the Sado, making nature and the wild even closer. And, just south of Lisbon, it has the charm of a big city without the huge costs... Read more →
A few hours up the coast from Lisbon is historic Porto, the city that is known worldwide for the sweet Port wine produced in the Douro River Valley here. Read more →
History hidden in plain sight? Sacred places and ancient mystery? Sounds like a fun TV program, but in Portugal there a few places where you can explore hidden underground monuments where the clock stopped centries ago. Read more →
São Miguel is the most popular and developed island. It is also the largest with an area of nearly 300 miles. On the west end, you'll find blue lakes and craters surrounded by lush greenery. Traveling to the east side brings you to an area familiar with geothermal activity. It is probably the default island for someone new to The Azores. Read more →
ABC News and other media have recently highlighted sleeping in a giant wine barrelat the Wine House Hotel in Lamego, Portugal, but do you know about other cool and unusual places where you can spend the night? Read more →
The vast majority of people who visit the Azores stay on São Miguel. And this is understandable. It’s the home of the João Paulo II International Airport and the island offers a wide variety of tourist activities. The other islands in the archipelago all have their own unique appeal though. Read more →
In recent years a dispute has broken out between Spain and Portugal on the islands. Spain has filed a brief with the United Nations to expand its fishing waters between the Canary Islands and Madeira - opening the Selvagens to commercial fishing. Spain has argued that the archipelago is really just “rocks." Read more →
Located only 10 minutes away from Madeira’s capital Funchal, Câmara de Lobos is emerging as an alternative place to dine and stay. The town is set around an amphitheater-like harbor surrounded by colorful houses that make this a charming and picturesque place to visit. Fishing and agriculture remain the main activities, but tourism has expanded into the nearby areas and this sector observed significant growth in Câmara de Lobos. Read more →
October is the spookiest time of the year and in the spirit of Halloween, we’ll tell you all about Portugal’s not so secret ghost hubs. With more than 800 years of history, Portuguese culture has a wealth of chilling myths and eerie stories. Discover the haunted manors, old hotels, schools, palaces and hospitals than can be visited today across Portugal. Read more →