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Unlike
some of the more stuck-in-the-past airlines, Virgin Express allows
you to book one-way tickets just as cheaply as returns. So forget
single destination holidays – think Thelma & Louise and
take a road trip the length of Portugal!
The capital of one of Europe’s former great powers, Lisbon
has always looked out to sea. Set straddling the River Tagus, the
elegantly faded city unfolds over a series of hills, with many lovely
spots at which to stop and admire its beauty. Lisbon may have been
tidied up in recent years, but it still has its rugged charm.
A city where vibrant modernity rubs shoulders with centuries of
history, Lisbon has plenty of culture, sights to see and good food
to sample. But best of all is just wandering, slightly lost, through
its different quarters, finding yourself in the
shade of a verdant square with sweeping views over the rooftops
and down to the harbour, or in a small brown bar in a back street,
privy to the exchanges of flat capped old men listening to their
favourite fado singers. Sit back in a noisy pastelaria and savour
the perfectly crisp crust of a pastéis de nata (mini custard
tart) washed down with a milky galão (tall milky coffee),
or let your eyes flick over the facades of old houses the colour
of sugared almonds as you rattle past on a tram. Lisbon can be grand
but it is the small things that win the heart.
And wherever you walk, be sure to look down: Lisbon is famous for
its dragon’s- tooth pavements. Each stone mosaic measures
about four centimetres square, glossy and rounded with age –
a custom exported to the former Portuguese colonies of Brazil, Mozambique
and Angola.
Lisbon is famous for its stone mosiac dragon’s tooth
pavements
Whether you admire the meticulous town-planning evident in the
Baixa, the centre of Lisbon adjacent to the River Tagus, or climb
the steep winding streets of the Alfama, the only part of Lisbon
to significantly predate the 1755 earthquake which flattened the
city, or visit the remains of the 12th-century castle, Lisbon will
slowly get under your skin. Take a tram to visit the excellent Tile
Museum to get an idea of one of Portugal’s most enduring and
visible forms of art, or check out the street life in the Bairro
Alto, the city’s atmospheric bohemian quarter and the best
place to hear the mournful traditional Portuguese song the fado.
Art lovers should head to the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum –
named for the Armenian magnate who handed down his entire art collection
to his adopted nation and endowed Portugal with the largest private
charitable foundation outside the U.S.
The site of 1998’s Expo celebrates Lisbon’s relationship
with the ocean with Europe’s largest Oceanarium. Four huge
tanks are home to 15,000 creatures, gathered from the Antarctic,
Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, and the restaurant on the Vasco
de Gama tower has wonderful views of the city. To really rub shoulders
with Lisbon’s seafaring past, however, head to Belém,
six kilometres from the city centre on the waterfront. The Jerónimos
Monastery is Portugal’s most famous building and the purest
example of the Manueline style of architecture.
You
can’t miss the Torre de Belém, the fanciful white tower
that squats near the water. This Manueline tower with its Moorish
flourishes is probably the closest thing Portugal has to a national
monument: the first sight of the tower never fails to impress.
When it’s time to leave Lisbon behind, drive down to the
Algarve through the coast of the country, meandering through the
little-visited
Alentejo and the west coast of the Algarve.
You will attain the Holy Grail of all travellers: unspoiled beaches,
authentic village life and wide, wide skies.
The drive over the Ponte 25 de Abril is magnificent: at 1013 metres,
this is the longest suspension bridge in Europe. Across the river
you see the outstretched arms of the statue of Christ, a copy of
the one in Rio de Janeiro. You leave the bright lights of Lisbon
behind and cross into the delightful Setúbal Peninsula, formed
by the estuaries of the River Tagus and the River Sado.
Stop for a night in the prosperous town of Setúbal. Pousada
de São Filipe is one of the most magnificent hotels in the
country, with tumbling views over the valley, the town and the river
Sado. A fortress built in the 17th century by King Philip II of
Spain (Philip I of Portugal), the chapel with its interior covered
in 18th- century tiles is not to be missed and the bedrooms display
great attention to detail. The restaurant is one of the most elegant
in the country and serves excellent seafood, particularly the caldeirada
(a slow-cooked seafood stew, made with plenty of herbs). It’s
a good place from which to explore the wild Serra da Arrábida,
an isolated mass of limestone rising up to 500 metres and then falling
in steep cliffs to the sea. The more accessible beaches can get
quite crowded, but if you don’t mind a steep descent, there
is plenty of privacy.
Back on the road south, you enter the Alentejo region, Portugal’s
least known province. Stretching across a third of continental Portugal
but supporting only 12% of the population, the Alentejo is a vast
place of wide open vistas, cork oak trees and strong pure colours.
The coast of the region is largely unexplored except by other Portuguese
who guard its secrets jealously, but it is still pretty basic in
terms of accommodation and facilities.
The road becomes more barren as you push south. Odemira is the
northern boundary of the protected nature reserve that stretches
down the coast to Sagres and along to the area just before Lagos
on the Algarve’s southern coast. Next is Odeceixe, the pretty
village whose river marks the boundary with the Algarve. The beach
is a beautiful four kilometres walk west of the village.
Further
south, the small town of Aljezur straddles a river valley, overlooked
by Moorish ruins. Three wonderful beaches can be reached from here:
the dramatic Praia do Arrifana is south of Aljezur and can be hard
to reach, the Praia do Monte Clérigo is a nice family beach
which is easily accessible, while Praia da Amoreira is a lovely
long beach near a stream with crouching slate cliffs that are fun
to explore at low tide.
For somewhere special to stay, head into the wooded slopes of the
Espinhaço de Cão range. 13 kilometres from Aljezur,
on the road to Lagos, is the Corte Pero Jaques (Altinho, Bordeira,
Espinhaço de Cão, tel: +351 282 687893; www.corteperojaques.pt),
a charming and quiet hotel. Carefully decorated in rustic style
this friendly place is a successful mix of modern and traditional
architecture and has wonderful views over the hills. The bedrooms
are a dream of cool white interiors and romantic beds draped with
nets.
The ancients believed Sagres, the most south-westerly point in
Europe, to be the end of the world with its huge skies and pristine
cliff-backed beaches battered by waves. Those in the know rate its
beaches among the best in the world, and all have beach bars that
sell beers and Alentejo boasts unspoiled beaches, authentic villages
and wide skies sandwiches in the summer season. Praia da Mareta
is just below the central square, a lovely long beach with large
rocks to rest on, while to the west is Tonel beach, beloved of surfers
with its giant breakers and soft sand. Martinhal beach is a five-
minute walk from here and popular with windsurfers. Best of all
is Beliche, west of the village on the way to Cape St Vincent: the
imposing cliffs have been eroded into a honeycomb of caves and coves,
offering shelter from the omnipresent wind.
Be sure to eat at least once in Sagres’ best restaurant Vila
Velha, a rustic gem on the way to the pousada which is owned by
Dutchwoman Lia. She is a wonderful cook and her menus are truly
imaginative, taking traditional Portuguese dishes and updating them
in a delicious way.
Driving away from Sagres towards Faro, the edge-of-the-world feeling
fades away and, east of the village of Burgau, the development increases.
Lagos is a popular but unspoilt town with a charming old centre
and attractive beaches. From Lagos to Faro you are entering the
recognisable Algarve: beautiful beaches with clear turquoise water,
golf courses perched over the cliffs, lively resorts packed with
high rise hotels.
But
before you reach the high-octane delights of Portimão and
Albufeira, take the road up to the Serra de Monchique, the highest
mountain range in the south. The road winds up through fragrant
woods of pine and eucalyptus; by the roadside you will find boxes
of oranges for sale, along with sheepskins, pottery and the wooden
folding chairs you will have seen everywhere.
The spa village of Caldas de Monchique is a 19th-century oasis,
the prettiest village in the Algarve and light years away from the
resorts on the coast. It has been a spa since Roman times and a
new centre has just been built below the village where you can take
various water treatments. The village itself centres around a shady
central square surrounded by elegant 19th-century buildings which
have been turned into hotels and art galleries. Once the daytrippers
have disappeared there is nowhere more lovely in all of southern
Portugal.
Monchique is famed for its chilli-roasted chicken, frango piri-piri.
The winding road is lined by restaurants offering the dish as well
as amazing views down the valley and along the coast. All have terraces
so be sure to find a table outside, and you can trace the coastline
from Portimão all the way to Sagres.
Caldas de Monchique is light years away from the resorts on
the coast
Monchique itself is a small town with steep streets and plenty
of small bars in which to buy the lethal, colourless local firewater,
medronho. Take an empty litre bottle with you to buy the home-brewed
stuff and make sure you have booked a room (in the lovely Quinta
de São Bento if you can, on the mountain main road) before
you get stuck in: this stuff has a very high alcohol content!
To get back to the coast you drive through a landscape of camellia
bushes, wild lilies, olive groves, peach, lemon, almond and pomegranate
trees. From here the sophisticated resorts of the coast are a short
drive away, another world altogether from the deserted beaches and
peaceful villages encountered on the coastal drive from Lisbon to
the Algarve.
RH KAMIN MOHAMMADI
Kamin Mohammadi is the author of the Cadogan Guide to the Algarve.
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