Travel to learn. Learn to travel.
Royalty and rich Portuguese families made Sintra their cool mountain summer retreat for centuries, but now we plebians can revel in the palace playgrounds they created.
Flashback: Palace playgrounds litter the landscape Read more
We descended to hell – through all nine levels – and had such fun we repeated the journey two more times.
Flashback: We romped through hell in enchanting Sintra, Portugal Read more
When the sun is over the yardarm, pop the cork on a bottle of your favourite wine or champagne and examine that speckled tan bottle stopper. Chances are it came from Portugal. We learned more on a cork factory tour.
How to put a cork in it: not-to-be-missed factory tour Read more
You start up the red staircase with the carved wood handrails, but then it splits and heads off in a different direction, and then splits again. Harry Potter fans might think they’re on the moving staircases at Hogwarts but, in reality, they’re in a stunning bookstore in Porto, Portugal.
Harry Potter and the Portuguese connections Read more