Local guides
Places we love around our homes — sights, food, beaches and the practical bits, gathered by the people who live there.
Costa da Caparica
The Serra da Arrábida and Portinho da Arrábida
A green limestone ridge that drops straight into a turquoise sea between Sesimbra and Setúbal — the most striking landscape close to…
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Costa da Caparica
Sesimbra — a fishing town with a castle and a beach
A fishing town in a sheltered south-facing bay on the far side of the Arrábida hills, with warmer, calmer water than the…
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Costa da Caparica
Cascais — the town, the harbour and the beaches
The old fishing town turned resort at the western end of the Lisbon coast railway — compact, walkable, and made for a…
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Costa da Caparica
Cabo da Roca and the Guincho coast
The westernmost point of mainland Europe, and the run of cliffs, dunes and one enormous Atlantic beach between there and Cascais.
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Costa da Caparica
Sintra — the Pena Palace and the Quinta da Regaleira
A cluster of palaces and gardens in wooded hills half an hour west of Lisbon — one of the busiest day trips…
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Costa da Caparica
Parque das Nações and the Oceanário — modern Lisbon by the water
The 1998 world's-fair site, now a riverside district of wide promenades and gardens, with one of the best aquariums in Europe —…
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Costa da Caparica
Cacilhas — the ferry to Lisbon, the Ginjal quay and the old frigate
The ferry terminal across the Tejo from Lisbon, with seafood restaurants, a riverside walk under the cliff, and a nineteenth-century sailing frigate…
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Dénia
Alicante — the castle, the seafront and kilometre zero
A hilltop castle over the city, a palm-lined marble esplanade, and the point in the town hall from which every height in…
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Dénia
Villajoyosa — coloured houses and chocolate
A seafront row of houses painted in strong blues, pinks and ochres, and a chocolate-making tradition going back to the nineteenth century.
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Dénia
Guadalest and the Algar waterfalls
Inland from the coast, about an hour from Dénia: a dramatic castle village above a turquoise reservoir, and a run of river…
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Dénia
Moraira and Calpe — a harbour, a castle and the Peñón
Two very different towns down the coast from Dénia: low-key Moraira, and Calpe under the great rock of the Peñón de Ifach.
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Dénia
Xàbia and its coves — Granadella and Portitxol
Dénia's neighbour over the Montgó, with an old town, a fishing port, a sandy strip — and two of the best-known coves…
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Dénia
From Dénia harbour — boat trips and the island ferries
Coastal excursions in season, and the fast ferry across to Ibiza and Formentera from one of the handiest mainland ports for the…
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Stuttgart
Lakes and woods without leaving Stuttgart
Two easy half-days in nature inside the city limits: the three Parkseen and the Bärenschlössle, and the Max-Eyth-See by the Neckar.
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Dénia
Valencia — a day trip up the coast
A bit over an hour north of Dénia: Calatrava's white city, one of Europe's great food markets, and where paella actually comes…
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