Portugal

A summer road trip crossing Portugal from south to north, from the golden light of Lisbon to the mountains of Serra da Estrela, touching medieval villages, Atlantic cliffs and cities fragrant with pastel de nata and saudade.

Lisbon welcomes with its decadent, luminous charm. The yellow trams clattering up the slopes of Alfama, the oldest neighbourhood where fado echoes from bars in the evening and cobbled lanes wind between palaces covered in azulejos. São Jorge Castle, at the top of the hill, offers a panoramic view embracing the red rooftops, the Tagus glittering in the sun and the 25 de Abril Bridge in the background. Belém with its Manueline Tower and the Jerónimos Monastery, a masterpiece of Portuguese Gothic architecture, tells the story of the age of maritime exploration. The Chiado and Bairro Alto are the heart of cultural and nightlife: historic bookshops, literary cafés and live music venues.

The miradouros — the viewpoints scattered throughout the city — are reason enough to get lost walking: from Miradouro da Graça to Miradouro de Santa Luzia, every corner reveals a new perspective on a city that thrives on contrasts between ancient and contemporary.

Along the coast: Cascais, an elegant seaside town half an hour by train from Lisbon, with its sheltered bays, clifftop fortresses and fresh-fish restaurants overlooking the ocean. The Boca do Inferno, a sea cave carved by the force of the Atlantic, shows the power of the Portuguese sea even on the calmest days.

Sesimbra, south of the capital, hides some of the clearest waters in mainland Portugal. The Moorish castle dominating the bay from above, the fishing boats lined up on the beach and the Serra de Arrábida behind — a natural park of Mediterranean scrubland that plunges into the sea with hidden coves.

Sintra is a world apart: fairytale palaces wrapped in Atlantic mist. The Pena Palace, with its yellow and red towers atop the hill, seems to come from a storybook, and the mysterious Initiatic Well of Quinta da Regaleira spirals underground amid Masonic and Templar symbols. A place that takes your breath away every time.

Heading north along the Atlantic coast: Peniche, a windswept peninsula famous among surfers for the waves of Supertubos. The sea fortress, the Berlengas Islands on the horizon and the restaurants serving caldeirada de peixe. Figueira da Foz with its immense beach and the breezy Atlantic climate.

The heart of the journey is inland: the Serra da Estrela, the highest mountain massif in mainland Portugal, reaching nearly two thousand metres. Landscapes of granite and broom, glacial lakes like Lagoa Comprida, stone villages where time seems frozen and shepherds still handcraft Queijo da Serra — one of the finest cheeses of the Iberian Peninsula. A mountain unlike anything else in Portugal, harsh and silent.

Trancoso, one of the country's most charming medieval villages: intact walls dating from the thirteenth century, granite houses with Gothic doorways, the main square where Dom Dinis married Isabel of Aragon in 1282. The surrounding countryside is a mosaic of olive groves, vineyards and wheat fields.

Mangualde, in the interior of the Viseu region, completes the journey with its atmosphere of authentic Portuguese province: quiet squares, baroque churches and the hearty cuisine of central Portugal — arroz de cabidela, leitão da Bairrada, vinho do Dão.

A trip that reveals a Portugal far from the clichés: not just Lisbon and the Algarve, but a country made of mountains, villages and traditions that resist the passage of time.