Via Algarviana - a 240kms long walking trail in the Algarve Region

The Algarve’s local government and entities have created the “Via Algarviana”, a path that is crossing the region and allows visitors to walk from Alcoutrim to Sagres. This project, inaugurated on May 29, 2009, involves the implementation of a 240 kms walking path between Lower Guadiana and Cape Saint Vincent, crossing the algarve's countryside. The path functions as the backbone of walking paths of the region, in order to promote other existing ones. It also intends to promote walking and other means of ecotourism in the Algarve, to promote and enhance cultural environmental heritage of the region and to promote a sustainable development of the Algarve countryside. For more information and images check http://www.viaalgarviana.org/ingles/index.html

Mirror.co.uk's article says that Azores islands are a sight for sore eyes

Journalist Andree Frieze writes that arriving to Azores feels like you're stepping back in time and that driving around the Sao Miguel's island is like taking a trip through an open-air botanical garden. Click here to read the full article.

Carnaval is Mardi Gras Portuguese style

The festival of Carnival —the period just before the Christian religious era of Lent – is a seriously fun endeavor throughout Portugal and attracts thousands of visitors each year. During Lent, Catholics abstain from eating meat. The term “Carnevale” means “to put away the meat.” Before Lent, a 40-day period of austerity for the faithful, people want to let their hair down—and they do! Costume contests, street parades, dance competitions, theatrical displays, special foods and music, floats and parties are part of the typical festivities of Carnival throughout Portugal.

In the Algarve region, traditional fishing boats are decorated to parade on the water. Towns such as Loulé, Quarteira, Alte, Paderne, Moncarapacho, Vila Real de Santo António, Monte Gordo, Tavira all stage lively parades, with samba groups, dances and music.

In the city of Funchal, on the island of Madeira, grilled swordfish and Madeira wine is served in abundance. Samba troupes flood the streets with music an merriment, including a street carnival that involves nearly everybody. A float parade will be held on February 21. After the parade is ball at the Praça do Município. On the last night, Tuesday, a parade of costumed caricatures takes place, followed by prizes for the best-dressed.

In the capital city of Lisbon, celebrations take place in the modern part of the city along the riverfront, with parades, dances and festivities throughout the week before Lent. Many events feature show business celebrities. Traditional Carnival festivities take place in this region in the towns of Alcobaça, Almeirim, Sesimbra, Nazaré, Samora Correira (Vila Franca de Xira) and Caldas da Rainha. In Leiria/Fátima, masked children and adults take place in carnival parades from Sunday to carnival Tuesday. In Torres Vedras, political satire is expressed in parades of costumed characters and allegorical floats.

In Podence, the Caretos de Podence invites youngsters for parades from Sunday to Tuesday. They wear tin masks and colorful multilayered costumes of red, green and yellow wool. In the Lazarim (Lamego), local inhabitants wear heavy hand-made wooden masks that testify to the wealth of craftsmanship that can be found in Lazarim. The town of Viana do Castelo has a huge parade and street parties. In the Centro Region, Estarreja stages a celebration characterizes by its floats, richly decorated with flowers. The towns of Nelas/Canas de Senhorim host four parades: Bairro da Igreja and Cimo do Povo (in Nelas); do Paço and do Rossio (in Canas de Senhorim). The city of Óvar holds the largest festivities in this region, with costumes, masks, decorations and floats, all followed by religious processions when the Lenten season begins and Easter approaches.

In the Azores Islands, Carnival festivities are held throughout. At Ponta Delgada and Angra do Heroísmo, dance and carnival troupes parade in costume. On the island of Graciosa, large groups of all ages march in parade in colorful costumes. On the island of Terceira, dance and theatrical performances, called “Danças de Entrudo” take place, often with 30 or more different groups participating.

Source: InsidePortugalTravel.com

New wine packages started to be offered by Selected Wineries

Selected Wineries Company started recently offering great quality packages that combine the best hotels, wineries, vineyards, and other interesting activities in Portugal to help visitors to take part in unique experiences. 1 day or longer programs are available or if you prefer you can also make your own program. For more information visit their own website at http://selectedwineries.net/

Lisbon's New MuDe - Design and Fashion Museum set to open downtown in late 2010

Lisbon’s new Design Museum is one of the world’s leading museums of 20th century design and several critics see its collection as the best in Europe. It opened in 1999 in Belem Cultural Center and closed in August 2006 to reopen in the heart of the city. It will re-open in Rua Augusta (Baixa neighborhood) by the end of 2010. The museum will be housed in the previous Head Office of a Portuguese bank (BNU) and will be renamed the Design and Fashion Museum or simply MuDe (which also means “change” in Portuguese). The design collection consists of works by some 230 designers representing trends in design from around the world. There are works by design icons such as Phillipe Starck, Charles Eames, George Nelson, Arne Jacobsen, Paul Henningsen, Vener Panton, Masanori Umeda, Henning Koppel, and Tom Dixon, and includes almost 200 design classics embracing innovative furnishings, glass, and jewelry from 1937 to the present. And for the first time the museum will also feature Portuguese businessman Francisco Capelo’s fashion collection made up of 1200 couture pieces, including a famous Jean Desses gown that Renee Zellweger wore to the 2001 Oscars and Christian Dior’s landmark 1947 New Look. http://www.mude.pt/en/mude_site.html

Escorted Contemporary Art Tour in Lisbon

Episode Travel with Art is offering a tailored escorted trip to the new and exciting art galleries of Lisbon with encounters with curators and leading figures in Lisbon’s thriving contemporary art scene. These tailored tours give insight into an artistic world as attractive and original as it is alive and allow participants to meet interesting artists that are living and working in Portugal- and go on visits to landmark museums and collections, aw well as selected galleries, private collections, artist studios and temporary exhibitions. All this is built on the latest developments in the Lisbon arts world and provides a perfect introduction to a city with a unique character, fascinating neighborhoods and the most intimate of art scenes. Episode travel also offers a tour on Contemporary Architecture in Lisbon. For more information about other interesting packages visit www.episode-travel.com

Where to stay while visiting Portugal - top accommodations

Portugal definitely is a wonderful and unique country to discover. One of the biggest questions that lots of people face when choosing to visit Portugal is: where to stay? Portugal offers so many nice and diverse options in terms of modern infrastructures and personalizes ways of accommodations such as guesthouses, charm boutique hotels and pousadas. The hard part will be to how to choose. Here are some great and sincere suggestions:

Pousadas de Portugal offer a network of more than 40 unique boutique, charming and luxury lodgings located in former historic sites, such as castles and manor houses, throughout Portugal, from Minho green and rustic valleys to the Trás-os-Montes luxuriant mountains, or to the Alentejo golden plains and the Algarve coast with its fine sand and warm waters. Check for year round specials and other promotions targeted to families, visitors age 55 and older with a 40% Discount on standard rates and affordable 4 nights + car rental passport packages.

Solares de Portugal is a network of more than 96 manor houses, family homes, and stately houses that offer a personal “touch" lodging option where houses have been arranged into three distinct groups: Casas Antigas (Manor and Stately Houses), Quintas e Herdades (Country States and Farms) and Casas Rústicas (Cottages and Rustic Houses). Each house has also been individually inspected to ensure the highest standard of quality and hospitality. Many of these Solares have played host to same family for hundreds of years and often date back to the 17th and 18th Centuries. Prices for a Double room start at 65 Euros per night. Solares de Portugal also offers several activities and itineraries of Ecotourism, such as “Portugal- Gardens of Eden”, riding horse or bicycle, mountain, hiking, observation and study of the flora and fauna, birds watching or discovery endangered animals such as the Iberian Wolf, the “Garrano” horse or the “real” eagle.

Casas no Campo offers lodgings at splendid total independent rural estates and rural homes where the rustic touch prevails. Casas no Campo offers a perfect option for a relaxing, comfortable and private vacation in a homelike and rustic atmosphere where is possible to listen the birds singing and the water flowing in the streams and see amazing landscapes and feel the fresh of the mornings far away from the big cities. Price per night for 2 persons starts at 50 Euros.

Aldeias de Portugal is a website that allows reserve a stay at typical Houses of Soajo and Lindoso's villages and to better experience the Portuguese northern countryside by finding the

traditions, the cuisine and the culture of these villages located at Peneda-Gerês National park. Prices start at Another option in terms of villages are Aldeias de Xist

o (slate villages) and other villages that were turned into unique places to stay.

ARTEH® – Hotels and Resorts is a soft brand hotel chain, dedicated to Marketing, Promotion and e-Distribution of exclusive Collection of Luxury and Charming Boutique Hotels and Resorts located in Portugal (and other countries such as Spain, France, Italy, Brazil, etc). All of their properties are well-known by the richness of their history, the beauty of their surroundings, the character of their architecture, the style of their décor, the comfort of their rooms, the quality of the service and unique experiences provided to their guests. Many of the hotels and resorts listed offer golf and spa services throughout Portugal. Every month great value promotions and special packages offers of the ARTEH® Hotels become available online, at their website. There is even an option where is possible to search the Best Available Rates online.

MaisTurismo is one of Portugal's leading travel publishing groups that is best known for publishing the annual Portugal Hotel Guide (print, online and in CD-ROM format) that is number one in the market since its launch 21 years ago since it provides a detailed list of most of the properties that are available in Portugal. This guide is also adopted by the Portuguese Hotel Association (AHP) as its official source of hotel information in Portugal, including the Atlantic islands of Madeira and the Azores. Search is available by hotel category, lodging accommodations, regions and by types of services provided. MaisTurismo also publishes the Meeting & Convention Planner's Guide to Portugal, a high-quality annual directory of meeting venues in Portugal

Wonderfulland.com is a very useful tourism portal that offers a very interactive way to discover Portugal and all the wonderful experiences, attractions and suggestions in terms of where to sleep, eat, play, be pampered, what to taste and what to drive. With the slogan “We love Portugal”, Wonderfulland helps tourists create their own itineraries to discover Portugal and offers a selection of services, including charming accommodations, tasty food, sports, culture and other leisure activities.

SecretPlaces.com is an online hotel guide that features some of the most charming and authentic Portuguese small hotels, pousadas and other luxury places to stay while travelling in this small but incredibly diverse country – Portugal. Search http://www.secretplaces.com/vd.asp?WCX=ViewDisplay&FOLDERID=3889&USECONTEXT=YES is available by regions, towns, hotel name, price, type of property, interest, amenities and type of activities.

Besides all of these there are a huge number of villas and apartments to rent plus affordable state managed youth hostels (Pousadas da Juventude) and privately owned hostels, house swap and Couchsurfing. If visiting Madeira Islands maybe Quintas da Madeira can be another great option in terms of accommodations.

Bird Watching in Portugal

Europe's south-westernmost country has gained quite a reputation as a bird-watcher's paradise in recent years, with good sightings regularly reported in every region, including the Atlantic islands of Madeira and the Azores. The sport is helped along by better infrastructure (trails, parks) for the bird watchers and an increased emphasis on eco-tourism. Birds to be found include, in the mountainous north, nesting birds such as the Montague Harrier, Red Kite and Short-toed, Golden and Bonelli’s Eagles. At high altitudes, the Tawny Pipit and Rock Thrush can be seen. The Portuguese Society of Bird Studies has identified the vast area of the Albufeira do Rio Azibo as one of the main spotting zones in Northern Portugal. Likewise, the slopes of the Douro Valley are one of the best places to observe birds of prey, many of which nest in this region. Large numbers of water birds can be seen along the coast that borders Portugal’s Centro region, most notably around the Ria de Aveiro estuary among the low-tide mud, reeds and salt-pans. The wetlands of the Lower Mondego attract many unusual species such as the Purple Heron, while the Tejo and Sado estuaries are a very popular winter wetland for magnificent-looking birds like the Greater Flamingo. Portugal's hot, dry southern regions provide ideal conditions for a wide variety of nesting, migratory and winter water birds, including the Black-winged Stilt, Purple Gallinule and Lesser Short-toed Lark. For more information click here.

Affordable Vinha da Quinta country estate near Sintra

The Vinha da Quinta country estate near Sintra, west of Lisbon, is an affordable place to stay. Located close to the sea in the charming village of Janas, Vinha da Quinta has 4 double rooms, with a total of 11 beds. The estate includes a bar, swimming pool and sitting room where guests can relax beside the fireplace. Price for double room starts at 60 euros per night. http://www.vinhadaquinta.com/

Discover the best cooking classes on Portuguese Cuisine in Alentejo Region

The Alentejo Region is Portugal's "undiscovered" region. It has its own cuisine, culture, style and accent. Though it is Portugal's largest province, it is sparsely populated. Several hotels in the region are now offering cooking classes in which the particular cuisine of the region--marked by Roman and Arab flavors--are taught. The Hotel Clube de Campo Vila Galé em Albernôa, in Beja offers classes, as well as the Refugio da Vila Cooking School, Quinta dos Prazeres and Herdade da Matinha. At the Herdade da Malhadinha Nova visitors can pick and choose their experiences on site, including the spa, swimming pool, sauna, massage, Jacuzzi, cooking and wine workshops.

New trendy Vincci hotel opens in Lisbon

The Vincci Baixa Hotel is the Vincci chain's first hotel in Portugal and is located in the heart of Lisbon's lively Baixa shopping and banking district. The neighborhood has dozens of shops and open-air bars that are very popular with musicians and artists, giving the area a Bohemian flare. North from the hotel is the Rossio district, which also has a wide range of restaurants choices. The Vincci Baixa covers 5 floors and has 66 fully equipped double rooms decorated in an attractive modern style with attention to detail. Prices start at 118.33 Euros per room. More information http://www.vinccihoteles.com/en/hotels/portugal/lisboa

Cycling and walking tours off the beaten track in Portugal

Terracotta Journeys is offering cycling and walking tours off the beaten track in Portugal for the active traveler seeking fine local cuisine and wines, impressive scenery and historic accommodations. Combine a visit to Lisbon with one of their cycling tours and they will give you advice on where to stay and what to see when you're there. Many of their tours depart from Lisbon so they can pick you up right from your hotel. Other tours include the opportuniy to discover The Douro River and the Port Wine Journey or The New Costa Azul to the Algarve Tour. Click here to check each of the trip schedules.

Take advantage of fall savings at eco-friendly resort

The Aldeamento Turístico de Palmela, an ecologically friendly resort near the Sado Estuary is offering fall specials. In September, a one-bedroom apartment will be 60 euros, in October 52.50 euros and November 45 euros. The property includes 18 studies and 26 apartments, all fully equipped. A restaurant, bar, esplanade, two outdoor swimming pools, two tennis courts and a children's playground are all on-site. http://www.fpalmela.com/

Portugal's first pousada was created in the hills of the Alentejo regioin, near Serpa, and now that region is the site of Portugal's newest inn. The Herdade da Retorta is set in a historic manor house and estate, with six rooms. Cycling, bird-watching and traditional sports are all nearby. Prices per double room with breakfast included start at 70 Euros. http://www.herdade-da-retorta.pt/

Trendy Axis Viana opened on August 2008 in Viana do Castelo

Located between the Lima River and the St Luzia Mount, and just 5 minutes away from the city centre, the dramatic new Axis Viana Business and Spa Hotel opened in August 22. This hotel features contemporary architecture in a 4-star setting. http://www.hotelaxisviana.com/

Lisbon's Coach Museum will open in a new location in 2010

Lisbon's famous Coach Museum (Museu dos Coches) will have a new display area come the year 2010 after renovations to a building that was once used by the military. The new museum will be located on Lisbon’s Avenida da India. According to the architect on the project, the museum's interior will be "simple and sober" to allow the coaches to stand out. Plans are to open the museum on October 5, 2010 as part of the Republic Day celebrations. The Coach Museum was an initiative of Queen D. Amélia de Orléans e Bragança, wife of King D. Carlos I (1889-1908), who inaugurated it in 1905. It contains an exceptional and unique collection of richly adorned royal vehicles, from the 17th to 19th centuries (coaches, berlins, carriages, chaises, litters, sedan-chairs), used by the Portuguese other European courts, the Patriarchs of Lisbon and Portuguese noble houses up until the advent of the motor car.

New 5 star luxury property opens in Vilamoura - Tivoli Victoria

The new 5 star luxury property Tivoli Victoria is scheduled to open on January 15, 2009, in Vilamoura. The hotel will offer a panoramic view over the fairways of the new Victoria Golf Course - designed by the renowned architect Arnold Palmer - will include an Elements Spa by Banyan Tree. It will have 280 rooms including a Presidential suite, two executive suites and fourteen junior suites. There will also be two restaurants, three bars, swimming pools (indoor and outdoor) as well as an area of 900 m2 for meeting rooms.

Discover Lisbon while driving a GoCar

Lisbon can now be discovered by visitors with the help of a three-wheeled, two-seated yellow touring car guided by a GPS system. These "GoCars" were pioneered by an American company, GoCar GPS Guided Tours, and are available in Lisbon's Baixa neighborhood. The mini-cars rent for 20 euros per hour and come equipped with guidance systems in Portuguese, English and French. German and Spanish will soon be added. The on-board guide will point out landmarks and points of interest. The GoCar is environmentally friendly and has been used in San Francisco and Miami. http://www.gocartours.eu/index-new.php?lang=en

Mushrooms Fall Festival at Convento de Belmonte

Each October to December Chef Valdir Dudek Lubave walks the forest paths in search of wild mushrooms - boletos, sanchas, and míscaros. And the guests at the Pousada do Convento de Belmonte in the mountains of the Centro Region, reap the fruit of the harvest. Now, small groups of 6 people can learn the tales of the hunt for the wild mushroom, and how to cook them, in the traditions of Central Portugal. What will one learn, well imagine a mushroom Cappuccino with a foam of aromatic herbs, a fresh cod on a bed of beurre blanc and Agaricus, veal scallops win a sauce of Morquela, and to finish pineapple of the Azores with mushroom, and a glass of mushroom brandy. Book a chef’s table today and explore the world of the mushroom. http://www.conventodebelmonte.pt/

Alqueva - Tour boat cruises in Europe's largest artificial lake

Portugal’s new Alqueva Lake, located in the southern region, is attracting many tourism development projects. Known as The Grande Lago, it is the biggest artificial lake in Europe, at 250 kilometers wide (155.34 miles) and 83 kilometers (51.57 miles) long. The Portuguese Government set up large areas around the lake as nature reserves (Reserve Ecological National). At the same time the area has been declared the 5th Tourist Region of National Interest. More than 120 tourism projects have been presented in the Alqueva Region and 30 projects have been approved. The most ambitious project is “Alqueva Parque,” the development for the tourism of Campinho, a peninsula at the lake, with a total investment of one billion euros. Apart of the Alqueva Parque, big companies like Sonae, Pestana, Banco Espírito Santo and Amorim have already started projects around the lake. Gescruzeiros is the only operator on the newly formed on the Alqueva Lake with a boat that accommodates 25 to 120 passengers. From the Amieira Marina, one can cruise swim, fish, scuba dive and relax. Visitors can choose to moor on an islet or visit the surrounding villages the village of Luz, in the past swallowed up and then identically rebuilt on the bank of the Grande Lago. Visitors can also see the Alqueva dam, an amazing piece of work inaugurated in 2002. The nearby international Airport of Beja (formerly a very large military airbase) will be reconstructed in 2007 and open in late 2008. The airport will low-cost and charter connections from the Alqueva Lake to the major destinations of Southwest and South Central Portugal. Also Amieira Marina is now offering tour boat cruises of Europe's largest artificial lake. For 35 euros, the cruise includes a full course meal and a great view. Children under 12 travel at half price. www.amieiramarina.com