A must see tourist attraction that is  located west of Funchal.

The mountainous region received its charter in 1514 by King Manuel I. Found in Terras de Bouro old “Castro” of Chalcedon, erected by the Romans, we also find countless landmarks and millenary Roman road between Braga and Astorga, a town that is known for Geira national treasures of Portugal.

The Gerês symbolizes the harmony between man and nature, a constant sharing of activities and feelings between people and the inhospitable nature of the granite mountains shaped by time.

The crystal clear waters flows by streams and the clean air involves a great diversity of fauna and flora providing a continuous movement of calm and pleasure. Home of some animals like the semi wild horse Garrano, Wolves, Fallow Deers and many others endangered species.

A hiking trails net that allows to see places that would be impossible to find by car, an experience that should not be missed.

Major tourist destination for over a century is a brand to defend, preserve and learn to take advantage of its legitimate for the sustainability of the region. The Peneda-Geres Park offers products and services with great quality and aiming to provide welfare so necessary to our lives so hectic.

The Church of Santa Maria do Olival is a Roman Catholic church in the city of Tomar.

The church was built in the second half of the 12th century by the provincial master of the Order of the Knights Templar in Portugal, Gualdim Pais. It was used as a burial place for the Knights Templar of Tomar and, later, by the Knights of the Order of Christ, which succeeded the Templars in the 14th century. Gualdim Pais is buried in the church and his original tomb slab, dated from 1195 bearing a gothic inscription, is still preserved inside.

The current building is mostly the result of a reconstruction carried out in the 13th century in early Gothic style. The main façade has a beautiful rose window and a simple portal with several archivolts, and is flanked by a free-standing bell tower. The interior is very simple. The church has three naves covered by a wooden roof, and the columns of the pointed arches of the naves are devoid of capitals. The main chapel of the apse is covered by a Gothic ribbed vault. The tracery of the small rose window in the Eastern wall of the nave has the shape of apentagram.

In the 16th century the church was restored and several chapels were added to the Southern side. Notable are the polychromed statue of the Virgin Mary and Child (early 16th century) in the main altar and the funerary monument of Diogo Pinheiro the first Bishop of Funchal, a fine Renaissance work dated from 1525, located on the wall of the main chapel.

To understand Pena Palace and the beautiful Gardens sourrounding the Palace the tourist has to see the opera Parsifal…An opera with three acts by Richard Wagner. It is loosely based on Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach, a 13th century epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival (Percival) and his quest for the Holy Grail, and on Perceval, the Story of the Grail, by Chrétien de Troyes’.

Parsifal is one of King Arthur’s legendary Knights of the Round Table, which can be found  in the Pena Palace Gardens.

Wagner’s spelling of Parsifal instead of the Parzival he had used up to 1877 is informed by an erroneous etymology of the name Percival deriving it from a supposedly Arabic origin,Fal Parsi meaning “pure fool”. Playing with words…

Remember the most important it is not inside the Pena Palace but in the Gardens and the Castle of The Moors.

All starts with the Warrior in the Garden, D.Fernando put the it exacly in the place where he love to seat and paint.

The Warrior (or Parsifal or problably D.Fernando of Saxe Coburg-Gotha)

High Cross, Cruz Alta (or Excalibur with the sword inside the rock)

Pena Palace, The Castle of the Holy Grail

Chalet Condessa d’Edla, Pena Palace Gardens or Klingsor’s magic garden

Duck House, Klingsor’s magic garden

The Castle of The Moors (or Avalon)

Lawrence’s Hotel (the oldest hotel on the Iberian Peninsula)

Monserrate Palace

Seteais Palace Hotel

Vila Palace

Quinta da Regaleira

All Photos in this Post and Page were Courtesy from Bruno Nabiça.

The Perfect Tourist  eMagazine

Is one of the best preserved and least crowded beaches in the Algarve. It’s a completely uninhabited area of the Ria Formosa.

Rare sanctuary, the Desert Island invites to tranquility and rest.
About 10 km of silence and quiet characterize this place, where everything seems to fit perfectly between the land, sea and air.

Access is by sea from the pier Porta do Sol or Sun Gate, in Faro. It’s always worth going through the labyrinths of sand and mud flats of the estuary.

Museum town with white houses facades sober but flowering with porticos and Manueline aristocratic windows all lined winding streets, sometimes surmounted by arcades, interrupted by other small squares that give the guard jewelry Portuguese civil and religious architecture. The Church of Mercy (XV century), the Church of St. Peter (XVIII) and the St. Martin Chapel (XIV century) are just a few examples among many others that focus on the small area of the borough.

The Royal Palace and the perimeter walls of the castle which overlooks the Águas Livres Aqueduct, are essential. The citadel originated in castro dated 380 BC

This makes a tour of this authentic asleep town  in one of the most comforting time travel.

One should not fail to try the local cuisine that stands out fish stew of Obidos lagoon, which can only be accompanied by special regional wines.

Within the walls, there are many typical bars where you can enjoy a typical drink: a ginjinha.

As the last river port inside the Guadiana , Mértola was an asset trading center since pre -Roman prestigious municipium during the Roman occupation , the capital of a Muslim kingdom in the Islamic period and the first seat of the Knights of Santiago. People settled here , circled the products of far away places from the ancient Mediterranean world, tradded bread and olive oil, Beja´s clays and ores from Aljustrel and S. Domingos. .

The mosque , later adapted to Christian church , is the only Arab religious space preserved in our country . The Islamic Museum Center , with a valuable collection from 20 years of research , provides us with the best evidence and most educational lesson about the importance and richness of the period of the Arab occupation of southern Portugal .

But not only the mosque and this core , to which are added various other themes around the village , which justify the visit Mértola . What makes it unique is that all its Historical Center is an active field of archeological work . Thanks to the daily efforts of a team of researchers and technicians , we can see live how history unfolds , archaeologists find in the street around their excavations and make contact with potential new discoveries . The way this project turned the impoverished village in to a multi-cultural landmark in Europe and worldwide itineraries  makes Mértola experience demonstrative , with a dimension perhaps unique in the country , the role that culture can play in sustainable development a place .

The archaeological centers that can be visit are  two large brining workshops, the spa, the mausoleum, the necropolis mausoleum and residential core of the Princess Street.

The access route  installed in 2010, has explanatory panels in seven observation points and signs for alternative routes.

The early Christian basilica is open to visitors only on guided tours.

He spent days and nights  cogitate a way so that thieves would not steal his fortune .Until he decided to build three long tunnels and at the end of one tunnel he placed all his gold, silver and precious stones like it had never been seen before.

The tunnels were made at the foot of the hill bellow Leiria’s Castle.

The tunnel’s doors were closed and the man spread the word that at the end of one was all his wealth, by the end of another was hunger and the third had the plague.

An atmosphere of real horror was created and it protected his wealth from thieves. From that day on he slept peacefully.

The doors can still be seen on the wall of the Cathedral and became known as the 3 doors of the Cathedral

Owned by the Serralves Foundation, the house was built by the second Count of Vizela, Carlos Alberto Cabral and designed by the architect José Marques da Silva. It is a unique example of Streamline Moderne architecture in Portugal.

Completed in 1940, Casa de Serralves welcomed presentations made by the Foundation between 1989 and 1999. In 1996, Casa de Serralves was classified as a building of public interest due to its architectural interest.

Today the house is part of the Serralves Museum.