Lisbon & Surroundings 2026-27

Lisbon: three historic cafés.

In Lisbon, cafés are places for meeting, chatting and debate. A few old establishments have disappeared, but three glorious institutions keep the charm of days gone by very much alive. A Brasileira (Rua Garrett 120, in the heart of the Chiado), with its Art Nouveau façade and an interior all wood and mirrors, and a bronze Pessoa to keep the lone customer company. Martinho da Arcada (in Praça do Comércio), with an adjoining restaurant, is the regular breakfast haunt of civil servants. Its walls are hung with photographs of Pessoa, a true habitué. Nicola (at Praça de Dom Pedro IV 26, in the Rossio), with an Art Deco façade and an interior of marble, mirrors and wrought iron. Manuel Maria Barbosa du Bocage, perhaps the greatest Portuguese poet of the eighteenth century, was a regular (statue and commemorative panel inside).

Óbidos, a charming medieval town, stunning by day, magical by night.

How many women can say they were given a whole town as a present? Few, probably, and one of them is Queen Isabel, who received Óbidos as a gift from her husband, King Dinis I. Who knows whether it is thanks to Isabel's feminine touch, but what is certain is that Óbidos has become one of the most beautiful villages in Portugal: the romantic historic centre, perched on a hilltop dominated by a medieval castle, is a maze of cobbled streets and little white houses, with flower-decked balconies, colourful doors and Manueline decorations. Strolling along the castle walls or through the streets of the village is always a captivating experience, but if you want an extra touch of romance, do it at sunset, when the town empties and the sky takes on evocative shades of pink. Óbidos's main tourist attraction is the town walls: wrongly thought to be the castle walls, they date from the period of Moorish rule, whereas the castle was built in the thirteenth century at the behest of King Dinis I. Originally the castle was an austere building, more fortress than palace, with numerous towers, battlements and wide gateways; it took on the appearance of a palace only in the sixteenth century, with the addition of Manueline features, and today it is one of the most luxurious hotels in Portugal. Walking along the walls is a captivating stroll, during which you can enjoy a breathtaking view over the town and the surrounding countryside.