Portugal 2008: accommodation directory
Portugal 2008: activities and special interest tours
The vast majority of visitors head for the Algarve’s sandy
beaches, yet Portugal is a country that deserves deeper exploration.
As well as a rich cultural heritage, it has world-class national
parks and nature reserves, clean blue rivers and lakes for
swimming, boating and fishing, and a refreshingly undeveloped
Atlantic coast. Don’t miss the extraordinary village of
Monsanto, built among giant granite bouldersHere are my top 10 reasons to visit Portugal this year.
1 It is the cheapest eurozone
country. The Post Office’s recent Holiday Cost Barometer
shows that popular tourist purchases cost twice as much in Spain. For example, a Heineken beer costs %26pound;1 in Portugal compared with
%26pound;1.92 in Spain; a three-course meal for two costs %26pound;23.06 in
Portugal, %26pound;46.13 in Spain.
2
The Alentejo region, easily reached by car or
train from the Algarve, is becoming more attractive to tourists. advertisementMore handsome country houses on cork and olive estates are
available to rent and they make good bases for touring the
region’s Neolithic and Roman sites, notably the university town
of Evora. The Atlantic coast is wild here, but there is good swimming at
Vila Nova de Milfontes, where a new resort hotel offers activity
holidays aimed at British families.
3
Naturtejo, in remote central Portugal, newly
designated a Unesco Geopark (www.naturtejo.com), should prove popular with
walkers and cyclists and is famous for its fossils. Don’t miss the extraordinary village of Monsanto, built
among giant granite boulders. And don’t take remoteness for
backwardness: the locals have embraced YouTube and posted home
videos of village life, from the olive harvest to the volunteer fire
drill (see www.monfortur.pt).
Google Map: Portugal’s highlights
4 The five-star Aquapura
Hotel is a welcome addition to the limited accommodation
options along the Douro River. Near Peso da Regua, it is centred on a renovated country house.
The lush gardens contain most of the architect-designed rooms and a
full-on health spa. Other new hotels include the Pousada Sao
Vicente, a restored 19th-century palace in the northern town of
Braga, and two modern “design” hotels in Lisbon, Jeronimos
8 and the Fontana Park.
5 The Algarve has a good selection of luxury family-friendly hotels offering qualified
nannies and all-day activity clubs for children of all ages, leaving
parents free to relax in the spa or play golf. The newest hotel is the Hilton Vilamoura, which offers apartments
and hotel rooms on its five-acre site at the heart of the resort.
The Paradise Island Kids’ Club operates from Easter until the
end of September and accepts children from the age of three.
6 The first charter flights direct to the
Atlantic island of Porto Santo start in May
and coincide with the opening of two luxury resort hotels on the
island’s six-mile sandy beach. Both the Pestana and
Colombo’s Resort will have children’s clubs, health spas
and themed restaurants.
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