![Bom Jesus in Braga Portugal. Monumental staircase and sanctuary. By PMRMaeyaert (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://i1.wp.com/juliedawnfox.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Braga_Bom_Jesus_do_Monte_PM_33856.jpg?resize=420%2C290&ssl=1)
This guest post about the monumental sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga is by Sara Riobom, a blogger at Portoalities. Based in Porto, she organises private tours not only in Porto but also in Braga and Guimarães, in the Douro Valley and in the Vinho Verde Wine Region.Read More →
I know that many of you enjoy getting away from the hustle and bustle of cities to explore picturesque villages and I’ve shared many of my favourite villages in Portugal with you over the years. In anticipation of a public vote on the best villages in Portugal, I’ve decided to roundRead More →
If you have a keen interest in photography and are curious about the UNESCO World Heritage city of Porto, read on to learn about Porto Photo Fest. My talented photographer friends, Anna McGunn of McGunn Media and Gail Aguiar, aka Gail at Large, have pooled their vast knowledge of theRead More →
Vinho verde is often badly translated as ‘green wine’ but it really just means young wine; light, fresh, slightly effervescent and best drunk within a year of bottling. Within this overall category of Portuguese wines, there’s a surprising variety of flavours, as I discovered when I visited Quinta de SantaRead More →
Wondering how to experience some of the best of the Douro Valley on a budget? If you’re keen to visit the Douro wine region, taste its wines, see its landscapes and take a boat trip on the Douro River and can’t stretch to an organised one day tour with transport,Read More →
When deciding where to stay in Porto, your choice of neighbourhood will be guided in part by how you want to get around the city centre. I like being able to walk to the main sites and fortunately, Porto’s historical centre is compact enough to facilitate that. If you’re not burdened byRead More →
The Douro valley in northern Portugal has more than just the perfect climate and soil for cultivating grapes and a wine-producing culture that dates back centuries. The undulating curves of the Douro wine region’s hillsides create a beautiful and dramatic landscape which changes with the seasons and is so specialRead More →
Many pilgrims start their Portuguese Way of St. James with this 2-day section walking north from just outside Porto towards Barcelos and beyond. For me it was the very last stage I did as part of my “mop up Camino”, an extra 5 days walking the remaining stages of the coastalRead More →
A part of my “mop up Camino”, I spent 3 days in May walking the Coastal Portuguese Way of St. James from Vila do Conde to Caminha, on my own. I’d already completed a 4-day stint in Galicia between A Guarda and Redondela (where the coastal and central routes merge)Read More →
When Mary-Jo Manzanares offered me the chance to do a podcast with her about Portugal, it didn’t take me long to decide which part of the country to focus on. I’ve spent a lot of time exploring the Minho region of northern Portugal and have become a huge fan. Mary-Jo’s Where ElseRead More →
