From our guide to Portugal
Fiery red walls, gated entrance, vast courtyard, clock tower, private chapel - dos Vargos has it all. The 18th-century manor house with gothic additions has been Pilar’s family home for 300 years...
A grand, palacial solar - a country manor - high in the hills, exuding 17th-century elegance and prosperity. It’s now a formal hotel, with doormen and butlers and furniture...
For a country so long at the centre of world events, Portugal can seem strangely removed from them. She is, of course, on the physical edge of the continent, hemmed in by vast and re-energised Spain. But, she is beginning to find her new voice. Portugal is also a richly rewarding country for visitors, especially those with a little curiosity. It is barely possible to be in Lisbon without being aware of its glorious (and inglorious) past, its place once at the centre of a vast empire. It was, some thought, the loveliest of all Europe's capitals, before the disastrous fire that reduced so much of it to ruins; but the re-building has produced wonderful results. It is now a curious mix of styles and moods, endearingly human in scale but with buildings as mighty as any in Europe.
All Special Places from our Portugal selection »
