If you approach Porto Santo by air, the whole island seems a glorious-golden yellow against the glistening cobalt blue sea. The island is known as ‘painting made by god’ and is 46 km to the northeast of Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean. The island tending to remind of North Africa, rather than Europe – a starkly beautiful desert landscape of palm trees and cacti, dotted with pine groves and small wheatfields. Photo by: Tiagoto

The island is only 14 km long and 5 km wide with an incredible golden san beach, stretching 9 km along the south coast. Photo by: fernangar

The islander survive largely by fishing, subsistence farming and goat-herding, using donkeys for transport and oxen to tresh the grain. The main town Vila Baleira on the sout coast is a beautiful cluster of white-washed houses with medieval monuments, and small cafes, where you can hide in the shade of palm trees watching the fishing boats. This is one of the least developed beach resort in Europe – an unspoilt island paradise. Photo by: ctcsherry

When to go: February to October but if you taking children avoid July and August when the island is invaded by families. Population: 4,474. Getting there: Daily car ferry or fly from Madeira. You should know: The golden sand of Porto Santo is said to have therapeutic treatments. Photo by: f_araujo_abreu

Photo by: PLSeabra

Paula Rego Museum, is located just outside the Portuguese capital by the beaches of Cascais. The museum includes paintings and drawings by Portugal’s most acclaimed living artist. The museum is named after Paula Rego, who was born in Lisbon but has been living between Cascais and London since the 1970s. In the British capital she married artist Victor Willing and was appointed the first associate artist of England’s National Gallery. She’s also considered one of the best living painters in Britain, and her works can be seen in several museums around the world, from the British Museum in London to the MoMA in New York.

In Lisbon, you can see a couple of her art examples at the Berardo Museum and at the Modern Art Centre of the Gulbenkian Foundation, as well as in the Chiado Museum’s current exhibition “Modern Art in Portugal – From Amadeo to Paula Rego.” In the past, there have been retrospective exhibitions of her work in Madrid’s Reina Sofia Museum, Porto’s Serralves Museum, and at the Tate Britain.

Nowadays there is a permanent home for much of her art, with the upcoming museum housed in a brand-new building designed by the renowned architect Eduardo Souto Moura. It features two conical towers that bring to mind the famous gigantic chimneys of Sintra’s National Palace, while inside it will show a total of 121 works by the artist. The 750 square meters of space will also include an area for temporary exhibitions, a cafeteria, a bookshop, and an auditorium.

The Vasco da Gama Bridge spans the Tagus River near Lisbon, Portugal. When it opened (and still today) it is one of the longest in Europe. With a total length of 17 km including 0.8 km for the main bridge, 12.3 km in viaducts, and 4.8 km in dedicated access roads, this magnificent structure is an immense cable-stayed bridge. It is named after Vasco da Gama – the famous maritime explorer, which in 1498 discovered the sea route to the Indies around the Cape of Good Hope.

The bridge’ purpose is to alleviate the congestion on Lisbon’s other bridge – 25 de Abril Bridge. It was designed by Armando Rito and up to 3,300 workers built the bridge. On March 31, 1998 the Vasco da Gama Bridge was officially open only18 months after construction – just in time for Expo 98 and the World’s Fair that celebrated the 500th anniversary of the discovery by Vasco da Gama of the sea route from Europe to India.

An archipelago of nine volcanic islands approximately 1,500 km from mainland Portugal, The Azores are the remote western tip of Europe. They are the tops of some of the biggest mountains on the planet, mostly hidden under the Atlantic Ocean, but rising to a spectacular 2,351 m above sea level. Amazing! Photo by: swilton

All the islands are wildly beautiful with coastlines of cavernous cliffs, rocky outcrops, black sand beaches and sheltered bays. Traces of massive volcanic eruptions can be seen everywhere in the incredible scenery. Rugged mountains with deep ravines, crater lakes and curious rock formations. The islands vary in size from Covo, just 17 sq km to Sao Miguel, 759 sq km, each with its own unique characteristics, history and old island architecture. Photo by: swilton

Rural life is the Azores is much as it must have been for centuries and there is a calm, unhurried atmosphere even in the main towns. As you explore the different islands, you become increasingly aware of the striking individuality and unique charms of each one – the pearls of the Atlantic. Photo by: swilton

When to go: June to October are the warmest and driest months. November to January is pleasant but rather cooler. From February to May tends to be rainy but the azaleas are in bloom in April, which more than makes up for the showers. Population: 238,767. How to get there: International flights from Portugal to Sao Miguel, Terceira, Faial, or Pico. Photo by: moacirdsp

On Algarve coastline of Portugal are located some of the most beautiful secluded coves, broken up by fabulous rugged cliffs and fantastic grottoes. Here the small beaches are caught between high extraordinary rock formations which act as wind- and wave-breakers. The water is a little colder than the Mediterranean’ (it is situated on the Atlantic), but the weather is beautiful and the wind keeps the climate from becoming too hot.

The tourist are attracting to the Algarve by the beautiful clean sandy beaches, hospitable people and the high waves in certain places (for windsurfers). The beaches of the eastern Algarve – Barril, Tavira, Manta Rota and Altura have been annually awarded the European Blue Flag and Gold Quality awards for excellence quality of their water and infrastructures. They are all supervised beaches, protected by lifeguards, with bars and restaurants nearby and offer visitors the possibility of renting sunshades, awnings or canvas beach huts. They all have showers and provide access for the disabled as well as water sports equipment for rent.

The Algarve in Portugal is a great all year around holiday destination and it has luxury hotels to match. You have many accommodation options in the Algarve – range from villa rentals, to hostels and hotels with a lot of choice ranging from 3 to 5 star. Also in the Algarve you will have a lot of choice for fun nights out. The best spots for a fun night out are Albufeira, Portimao, Lagos, Vilamoura and many more. During the summer there is always a place to party and the fun will go on until the sun rises and the weather is great!

Ericeira is a fishing village only few km from Lisbon and Sintra, located where the high cliffs of the rocky coast meet the Atlantic Ocean. A prime target for surfers, famous for its beautiful beaches Ericeira is internationally renowned as one of the best surfing spots in Europe. And it attracts tourists who come from all over the world to take advantage of the powerful Atlantic waves that can be found here.

However, Ericeira offers a lot more besides surfing to those interested in sport. Body-boarding, skim-boarding, windsurfing, fishing, diving, sailing, jet-skiing, water-skiing and beach-volley are some of the activities enjoyed at the beaches of the village. Walking down through the old village with its picturesque painted houses and cobbled streets the visitor passes a variety of restaurants, all offering exceptional seafood menus.

Its fine seafood restaurants have made the town very popular as a place to enjoy an evening out with friends. Good views, and good seafood, it is also one of the first ideas when someone decides to go out without knowing where.

I present you a twentieth-century rural hotel in Felgueiras, Portugal. The hotel is located on 24-acres of farmland which are primarily used as vineyards, and had existing sixteenth-century buildings. The notion was to revive the old structure, so the hotel was designed to complement and enhance the characteristics of the existing structures — and provide space and amenities for up to 22 guests and an outdoor swimming pool.

Concrete towers are located at the entrance of each room, defining the new space of each room, while being reminiscent of the form of the battlements of the main building. The new rooms are carefully positioned in a singular volume in lower elevation and perpendicular to the main building, offering guests privacy, while also maintaining a direct relationship with the surrounding landscape.

The towers that define the entrance of each room keep the form of the battlements of the main building and potentiate in the observer different experiences in the relation with the whole context.

The rooms in the interior are divided in three seperated areas. In the entrance there is a living room turned to a big glazed with views of the southern fields. A wall with half height separated the sleeping area and is used as headboard to the bed which is turned to the inside, to a little courtyard by the bathroom.

The Arrabida Bridge is an arch bridge over the River Douro, Portugal. Built in 1963, its engineer and constructor is Edgar Cardoso. The bridge is 70 m above the water and spans 252 m. It carries a roadway 25 m wide and 615m long, which is the major access to the Oporto city. The reinforced-concrete arch is 52m tall and the plate rises up to 70m above water level. Arrabida Bridge was for sometime the widest single span concrete bridge in the world. Today this construction is 9th longest concrete arch bridge in the world. And now, I am leaving you to enjoy with the amazing photos of this spectacular bridge….

Star forts are amazing and really become visually stunning when you look down on them from above. This style of fortification design was adopted in the early 16th century as people realized that simpler, often circular forts were pretty crap when it came to the job in hand: defense. Photo: Bourtange Netherlands

Many of them still stand today in varying sizes. Some are empty, some contain ruins. some, as you’ll see below, contain entire villages. Here are 5 of the best star forts on Earth… Photos: Palmanova Italy

Photos: Goryokaku Japan

Photos: Almelda Portugal

Photo: Naarden Netherlands

Casa no Geres is easy to love villa, located in Peneda-Geres National Park, along the Spanish border in northern Portugal, where the environment and its inviolability were crucial and the rules strict. The villa owns awesome beauty with its simple architecture, the openness of the views and the calm balance of the elements. The surrounding Nature has own way of being beautiful and this villa knows the secret.

At first glance the villa is quite unsuitable for its surroundings. From some angles the villa seems like an accident, some kind of disaster with transportation containers and building materials. One part of the villa is buried inside the hill, while another sticks out over the river.

Inside the villa is very spacious with huge windows, which makes 24/7 hours pure circulation of the air! The villa also has a cute kitchen overlooking the river, a stylish living room and two bedrooms, each with own suite bathroom. It’s prefect for families and friends vacations. The warmth and proper scale of the building become even clearer when the illuminated house is viewed at night. Casa no Geres is designed by Porto-based Correia/Ragazzi Aquitectos and it is a bold statement that hides nothing.

This Civic Centre is located in Custoias, Portugal, built in a central garden with imposing trees. It was even built a small structure near by it, the local public library.

 

The Civic Centre has two buildings- Cultural & Social. It intends through a multimedia zone in the first floor and leisure zone in the ground floor.

 

Colour play main part and its definition was influenced by Mark Pathko. There were used chromatic gradiations in grey scale on the outside and colour gradations on the inside.

 

The construction materials were chosen according to their ability to create uniform spaces and deduct detail and visual elements to the building. The exterior walls finishing are smooth, the windows are glued glass in stainless steel, custom made, which makes the frames disappear on the outside. Interior doors are made with the same plasterboard used in the walls and the floors have a concrete floor leveler that combines with the concrete ceiling.

 

The River Aquarium is located in Mora, Portugal. Settled in the Ecological Wild Park of Gameiro, the structure stands admist a field of cork and olive trees.

 

The building was devised as a compact and monolithic volume with a pitched shelter of thin white pre-cast concrete porticos with single spans of 33 metres, evoking the profile of the canonical Alentejo whitewash barns known as “montes”.

 

The Aquarium has reception, ticketing and shop, cafeteria, changing exhibits hall, documentation centre, research and education, live exhibits, multimedia and a small auditorium. Inside, the exhibition spaces tend to be dark, in order to minimize UV impact on the live exhibits and allow visitors an in-depth viewing of the aquariums.

 

The water for the building is taken from a well on the plot, pumped into a deposit and regenerated after use. In addition, areas for animal quarantine, food preparation, laboratories, staff facilities, and logistics complete the technical floor.

 

The Mora River Aquarium includes more than 500 live specimens and is expected to receive 200,000 visitors per year.

 

Oporto is a beautiful city in Portugal, just on 314km north of Lisabon and 304km south of La Coruna Spain. This city gave its name not only to port wine, but also to Portugal and its language. Oporto’s most interesting neighborhood is Ribeira. The narrow streets and balconied houses evoke Lisbon’s Alfama, though the quarter has its own distinctive character. Ribeira preserves the timeless quality of many of the old buildings and cobbled streets lining the riverbank.

Many travellers said that Oporto is an industrial city with some spectacular bridges, but there’s much to enjoy here. As the provincial capital and university seat, Oporto has its own artistic treasures.

The heart of Oporto is Avenida dos Aliados, with its parklike center where families sometimes go for a stroll. It’s bounded on the south by Praça General Humberto Delgado. Two major shopping streets lie on Praça de Liberdade: Rua dos Clérigos and Rua 31 de Janeiro. Rua Clérigos leads to the landmark Torre dos Clérigos, which some consider the symbol of Porto.

Oporto is also well serviced by a network of buses, trolleys, and trams.If you plan extensive touring in the area, a Passe Turístico is a good deal.

The Rossio Railway Station is a stunning structure set between Rossio Square and Restauradores Square in Lisbon, Portugal. The railway station was designed by the architect José Luís Monteiro. They integrated eight doors match the nine palatial windows and incredibly decorated clock tower located on the top of the facade.

Rossio station is a curiosity in that the platforms are some 30 metres above the main entrance. Services from here are all suburban trains to the tourist sights of Sintra via Queluz. The Rossio station has been recently renovated and was build in 1887. The boarding platform is now fasten to the Metro Station, which is with the nearest Metro station at Restauradores, (not with Rossio Metro).