Fado bars

 

At the core of Portugal's musical tradition is the distinctive song form, fado – literally “fate” – which is predominantly slow, resigned and melancholy in character. The music is lyrical, soulful and accompanied by guitars – the Spanish-style guitar known in Portuguese as viola and the Portuguese pear-shaped guitarra. To catch a live performance drop into one of the country’s wonderful fado houses.

It boasts ‘Europe’s answer to Hawaii’

Floating in the Atlantic Ocean, some 850 miles from mainland Portugal, the Azores was described as “the Hawaii of the Atlantic” by Telegraph Travel’s Chris Leadbeater. “They are lost in deep seas; steep-sided, beautiful, wild,” he wrote. “This is not to say the weather matches the glow of Pacific America – cloud and rain dog the Azores as much as sunshine – but such climactic inconstancy only adds to the aesthetic. Every day is different.”

This spectacular stadium

Portugal’s unexpected victory at Euro 2016 ignited further interest in a sport that already enjoys semi-religious status across the country. There are bountiful opportunities to watch a game, but for something special head to Estádio Municipal de Braga, a stadium carved out of a rock. Listen out for the phrase “o jogo Inglês”, which means “the English game” and is used disparagingly to describe boring football. Charming.

It has Madeira

“Madeira is not Ibiza. It attracts a more mature clientele, and raving is limited to enthusing about the island’s dramatic scenery and botanical wonders,” writes Telegraph Travels’ destinations expert, Gavin Bell. Bell was particularly enthused by the island’s cornucopia of fine food and wine, plus the landscapes which he said could have been “dreamt up by Tolkien”. 

 

The Harry Potter connection – and a spectacular bookshop

 

JK Rowling taught English in Porto back in the 1990s and was a regular at the Livraria Lello bookstore, which is one of the most famous shops in the city. Apparently, its decorative bookcases, carved wooden ceilings and lavish staircases inspired the Hogwarts Library in her Harry Potter books.

Quinta das Cruzes

Now a museum, the Quinta das Cruzes is a quintessential old Madeiran manor house complete with gardens and a private chapel. Originally the home of João Gonçalves Zarco, the Portuguese captain who discovered Madeira, it was remodelled in the 18th century into a stylish home by the wealthy Lomelino family. The exhibits here examine the life of Madeira's well-to-do from the 15th to the 19th century in an aptly aristocratic environment, the high-ceilinged mansion packed with priceless antiques from across the globe.

Pleasant to explore before or after a tour of the museum, the grounds are a typically exotic example of the type of garden created by the wealthy in the late 19th century. It's a romantically tranquil oasis of mature trees, pebble-patterned pathways, old-fashioned park benches and beds of sub-tropical plants, many of them labelled. Potted orchids grow against the west wall, while on the south side stands a tiny chapel that is normally closed to the public.

The 11 rooms on the building's top floor make up the bulk of the collection. Here room after room filled with fine furniture, ceramics, tapestry, engravings, oil paintings and jewellery from Europe and beyond give some idea of just how rich the merchant classes of Madeira had become by the 18th and 19th centuries. Highlights include the 19th-century oils of Madeira, the glyptic collection, some from Roman times, a typical Madeiran quinta bedroom and a fascinating section dedicated to Emperor Karl I of Austria, including his priceless Breguet watch.

Things get a bit chunkier downstairs, with massive wood and hunks of silver replacing the curvaceous Chippendale and gentle fans of the upper floor. Top billing here goes to the Caixa de Açucar, literally 'sugar boxes' – hefty cupboards made from the Brazilian hardwood in which sugar imported to Madeira was packed – a fine example of 16th-century recycling. Other high points include items from Portugal's far-flung Asian colonies, a collection of sedan chairs – once the way to get around the roadless island in comfort – and a huge assemblage of Portuguese silverware.

The museum was closed for building work in early 2019 and was expected to reopen later that year.

Don’t assume the starters are free

Most Portuguese restaurants will bring you a selection of starters to enjoy while you peruse the menu. These can be as simple as a bowl of olives, a basket of bread with butter, local cheeses, tuna or sardine paste, though smarter restaurants may serve prawns, crab paté, a variety of sausages, or even a selection of seafood. Don’t assume that these are free – anything you eat will be added to your bill.

Some menus show a cover charge per person which usually includes bread and butter, others will charge for everything individually, even the bread rolls. But don’t get too hung up on this – usually the simple starters are pretty cheap, so if you fancy some bread and cheese to start, go for it. Just be aware that anything fishy is usually expensive so only tuck in if you really want it. And don’t be afraid to check the price of anything, and say “no thanks” to the waiter if they bring you dishes you don’t want.

Be budget savvy

it’s usually much cheaper to eat your main meal at lunchtime – join the local office workers for a three-course midday meal with wine and coffee for around €12. You can also save money in bars by drinking your coffee or beer standing at the counter, rather than sitting outside on the terrace. Though not expensive to enter, museums are usually free on one day a week or month – check their websites for details.

Choose your transport wisely

Though much improved in recent years, Portugal still has one of Europe’s worst road safety records and many of its roads are in poor condition. Conversely, the toll-paying autoroutes are fast, well-maintained and virtually empty. Just be aware that some of the toll roads use numberplate recognition systems: check with your car hire company on the best way to pay for these.

Inter-city trains aside, Portugal’s rail routes are generally cheap, charming and slow: if speed is of the essence, take one of the fast and efficient coaches which serve all the main towns.

Be prepared to walk

The Portuguese can be very reluctant to venture far from their vehicles, which is why you’ll see often a roadside lay-by full of families picnicking next to their cars. So, you don’t have to walk very far up a track or away from the car park to have the beach, woodland or beauty spot completely to yourself.

Go out of season

While it’s true that parts of Portugal – Lisbon and the Algarve beaches in particular – can be overcrowded and busy in high summer, they are surprisingly quiet out of season.

Autumn is a lovely time to visit – the sea is at its warmest (the Algarve average water temperature in October is 21˚C) while the sun still shines for an average of seven hours a day.

Most Portuguese assert that the sea is far too cold outside the self-imposed “swimming season” (usually just July and August), leaving the beaches more or less empty in the shoulder seasons.

Nazaré funicular

If you walk North along the seaside past the fishermen’s district you will find yourself at the Nazaré funicular. Part of Nazaré town is called O Sitio and it’s situated high on the cliff. You can get there by car, but the funicular is a much quicker and more scenic way to get there. If you want to save a euro or two, you could opt to take the stairs, but beware that it’s a really steep climb. And for less than 3 EUR for the round trip ticket, it’s one of the best experiences you can have in Portugal.

The first Nazaré funicular was installed at the end of 19th century and it’s been an intrinsic part of the town ever since. Don’t worry – the current funicular is quite modern and the ride is really smooth. Enjoy the ride and make sure to look around once in a while – the views are simply stunning.

Fishermen’s district – Bairro dos Pescadores

After we managed to convince the kids to leave the wooden boats, we set to explore the fishermen’s district.

It’s difficult to say where exactly the fishermen’s district of Nazaré begins or ends. According to our guide book it’s several blocks of narrow streets with white little houses between Praca Manuel de Arriaga and Avenida Vieira Guimares. It’s a really nice area to ‘get lost’ and explore more. The fishermen’s district has a very local feel and the houses are built so close to one another that it makes you feel a bit like an intruder. Barefoot kids playing soccer, laundry flapping in the wind, men mending fish nets, and older people sitting on benches and catching up on the latest gossip – this is the more authentic Nazaré that you find in the back streets, just a few steps from the more tourist-oriented seaside promenade.

While Nazaré beach feels very lively and is a bit touristy, the fishermen’s district is a place that feels like it hasn’t changed in a hundred years. It looks like time stood still here and it’s easy to imagine the little fishermen’s village that Nazaré once was.

You will definitely run into some locals here and it’s remarkable that all the ladies are wearing traditional clothing. You can’t really miss it. Old ladies wear black shirts and short colourful skirts with seven petticoats in combination with a woollen cape, an apron, and house slippers. While some gentlemen can be seen in checkered pants and traditional woollen caps reaching their shoulders. It is quite an unusual sight. And no, it doesn’t look like they wear the traditional clothing only for the sake of tourists and that’s just one of the charms of exploring authentic Nazaré.

TIP: If you come on a Friday, you’ll find a local market at the fishermen’s district. And on Saturdays in summer you can watch the fascinating Drag Nets (Arte Xávega) spectacle. In the late afternoon local fishermen arrive from sea with nets laden with fish, followed by local women screaming out their wares for sale. It’s apparently quite a spectacle, so might be fun to watch if you are visiting in high season.

Nazare beach – Praia de Nazaré

We arrived in Nazaré without knowing what to expect or what there was to see in town. We had heard of the famous Nazaré beach, so that was the first place we went to. We parked the car at one of the little streets leading towards the sea thinking that we’d probably be back in no time as the village didn’t look like a tourist highlight at first sight. We ended up spending the whole afternoon in Nazare and it was dark by the time we returned. It turns out Nazare has a lot more to offer than it looks at first sight, but of course the beach is not to be missed.

We walked on a nice seaside promenade in the direction of a little harbour (Porto), but we never even got there. I read in the book that Porto of Nazaré is a nice lively place to visit in the morning when the fishermen come back from sea, but since we arrived in Nazaré in the afternoon, it looked really quiet from afar, so we decided to skip it.

Our kids saw wooden boats on the beach and set to explore – they afterwards said that it was the best playground ever.