Livadeia is a town in central Greece. It is the capital of the Boeotia regional district. Livadeia lies 90 km (56 mi) north-west of Athens, 64 km (40 mi) west of Chalkida, 63 km (39 mi) south-east of Lamia, 44 km (27 mi) east-south-east of Amfissa, and 91 km (57 mi) east-north-east of Nafpaktos. The town lies some five kilometres (3.1 mi) west of Greek National Road 3, to which it is linked by National Road […]
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Moored at the Cais da Alfandega on the River Ave is a replica of a 16th-century carrack, exactly the kind of ship that would have been built at Vila do Conde’s dockyards at the time. This vessel was launched in 2007 using ancestral carpentry and rope-making skills . One of the many interesting things about […]
In the 15th-century Royal Customs House on the quayside is a museum charting the shipbuilding trade that claimed the entire Ave Riverside through the Early Modern Age and up to the 20th century. With model boats, tools and tableaux the museum handles three different fields. First you’ll delve into the Portuguese Age of Discovery, when […]
Arta is a city in northwestern Greece, capital of the regional unit of Arta, which is part of Epirus region. The city was known in ancient times as Ambracia (Ancient Greek: Ἀμβρακία). Arta is known for the medieval bridge over the Arachthos River. Arta is also known for its ancient sites from the era of Pyrrhus of Epirus and its well-preserved 13th-century castle. Arta’s Byzantine history is reflected in its […]
The Gil Eannes Hospital Ship , built in Viana do Castelo in the Shipyards of Viana do Castelo, started its activity as a hospital in 1955, supporting for decades, the Portuguese cod fleet that operated in the banks of Terra Nova and Greenland. With the cod fleet deactivated, it was left to rot on the docks of […]
This long square in the centre of the old town is somewhere you’ll returning, whether on a sightseeing tour or just to take the weight off for a few minutes with a shot of coffee or cold beer. It is totally pedestrianised, and has many centuries-old buildings. You’ll be drawn towards the old city hall, […]
Torres Vedras’ municipal museum is in the Convento da Graça and is brimming with artefacts unearthed at the local archaeological sites. There’s a prehistoric settlement a few moments to the west, yielding tools and ceramics, while models of the copper smelting furnaces have been constructed. There are also Roman inscribed stones, mosaics and jewellery from […]
On the steep forested slopes north of the city is the castle, which has been in use on and off for almost 2,000 years. The Romans were the first to occupy this site, constructing two cisterns, while the Moors erected the first walls. When the Christians took over in 1148 they pulled these down, but […]
Under the village of Lapas two kilometres from Torres Novas is a spectacular labyrinth of tunnels hewn from the soft tufa rock. Just who dug these tunnels and for what purpose remains a bit of an enigma; theories vary from Neolithic tribes for shelter, to Christians seeking refuge during Roman times or the Moors for […]
Torres Novas has accumulated more than 30 works by Carlos Reis. These are in the municipal museum’s and match pastoral landscapes with portraits of rural folk. His paintings are hung next to works by other respected Portuguese artists, like José Malhoa, who worked at roughly the same time and was also inspired by pastoral themes. […]
The standout monument in every sense, the Castle of Torrres Novas is a sign of the town’s political and strategic value in medieval times. It was raised by the Moors in the 1100sm, and once it was securely in Christian hands became part of the Tagus Line (Linha do Tejo). This was a system of […]
The Convent of the Order of Christ needed a water supply, and the answer was to construct this magnificent six-kilometre aqueduct to conduct water from the four springs at Pegões. The project began in the 1590s and was planned by the Italian military architect Filipe Terzio who had been hired by the Portuguese crown. Work […]
The Convent of Christ is a former Roman Catholic convent in Tomar, Portugal. Originally a 12th-century Templar stronghold, when the order was dissolved in the 14th century the Portuguese branch was turned into the Knights of the Order of Christ, that later supported Portugal’s maritime discoveries of the 15th century. In the 12th century, King […]
The best remnant from the town’s Moorish era, Tavira’s castle has walls dating from the Almoravid dynasty in the 1000s. It was beefed up later during the Almohad Caliphate in the 12th century, and many of the surviving vestiges are from that time. You can work out where the walls were made from compacted clay […]
On the Ilha de Tavira barrier island is a world-class beach. Praia do Barril has a long and wide belt of white sand, with rows of parasols and sun loungers and a dune system behind. Children will get a kick out of the journey, as after parking up on the shore you board a miniature […]
The Church of Misericórdia de Tavira is located in the city of Tavira, in the parish of Santa Maria. Ordered to be built by Misericórdia de Tavira, its construction (1541-1551) is by André Pilarte, who also participated in the construction of the Jerónimos Monastery, in Lisbon. The church, in the Renaissance style, consists of three […]
Argos is a city in Argolis, the Peloponnese, Greece and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is the largest city in Argolis and a major center for the area. Since the 2011 local government reform it has been part of the municipality of Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 138.138 km2. It […]
Megara is a historic town and a municipality in West Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being taken by Athens. Megara was one of the four districts of Attica, embodied in the four mythic sons of King Pandion II, of whom Nisos was the […]
Pyrgos is a city in the northwestern Peloponnese, Greece, capital of the regional unit of Elis and the seat of the Municipality of Pyrgos. The city is located in the middle of a plain, 4 kilometres (2 miles) from the Ionian Sea. The river Alfeios flows into sea about 7 km (4 mi) south of Pyrgos. The population of the town Pyrgos is 25,180, […]
Chios is the main town and a former municipality on the island of Chios, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Chios, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 22.823 km2. It is located on the eastern coast of the island facing the Turkish coastal town of Çeşme. The town has a population of […]
Mytilene is the capital of the Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of the Aegean. It was founded in the 11th century BC. Mytilene is one of the 13 municipalities on the island of Lesbos. Mytilene is built on the southeast edge of the island. […]
Voula is a southern suburb of Athens and former municipality in East Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Vari-Voula-Vouliagmeni, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 8.787 km2. Grigoris Konstantellos is the incumbent mayor, elected for a second term at May 26, 2019, for the […]
Corint is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part of the municipality of Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It is the capital of Corinthia. It was founded as Nea Korinthos (Νέα Κόρινθος), or New Corinth, in […]
Vrilissia is a suburban municipality of the North Athens regional unit, in the Attica region. It is located in the Athens basin, at the southwestern foot of the Penteli Mountain. At the 2011 census, the municipality had 30,741 residents. History In antiquity the area of Vrilissia formed part of the deme of Phlya, which covered the land spanning from Psychiko to Agia Paraskevi and mainly centered on what is now […]
Tripoli is a city in the central part of the Peloponnese, in Greece. It is the capital of the Peloponnese region as well as of the regional unit of Arcadia. The homonym municipality has around 47,000 inhabitants. Surrounding area and geology In the large Tripoli Basin and in vast parts of the wider geological formations of the Arcadian Highland tectonics in the dominant […]
Ptolemaida is a town and a former municipality in Kozani regional unit, Western Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Eordaia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It is known for its coal (lignite) mines and its power stations. Culture Ptolemaida’s football club is called “Eordaikos” (Greek: Εορδαϊκός). Other teams include AE Ptolemaidas. Ptolemaida […]
The closest beach to the centre of Porto Côvo is this gorgeous cove hemmed by cliffs. There are rocks a few metres out that help to block the tides, so it’s one that you can bring children to as the surf is smooth and transparent . Unlike the larger Praia Grande nearby there’s no lifeguard […]
Argyroupoli is a suburb in the southern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the Elliniko-Argyroupoli municipality, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. A bustling suburb today, it’s known for its cafès, restaurants and bars. History As a part of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey after the Greco-Turkish […]
The deep waters that accommodate the container port also made Sines one of Portugal’s busiest fishing harbours in the middle ages. This castle was put up to defend the fleet and town against enemy navies and pirates. The hill it sits on has been settled since the Palaeolithic era, but the castle is only from […]
Rethymno is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 30,000 (near 40,000 for the municipal unit). It is a former Latin Catholic bishopric as Retimo(–Ario) and former Latin titular see. Rethymno was originally built during the Minoan civilization (ancient Rhithymna and Arsinoe). The city was prominent enough to mint its own […]
The town’s most famous son was born here sometime in the 1460s, though nobody can agree on the exact day or where in Sines he was delivered. Vasco da Gama earned his place in history during his voyage to India between 1497 and 1499, becoming the first European to get to India by sea, expanding […]
The wines from the Algarve don’t have a big appreciation, yet Jaap decided to leave his company in Amsterdam to become a wine producer in the Algarve. It took a while but finally the first, good quality, harvest was picked in 2011, by than his vineyard was just 2 hectars big.It takes quite some time […]
The Silves Castle is one of the most notable works of military architecture that the Arabs left among us, with more than a thousand years of existence. This fortification is located at the highest point on the hill on which the city rests. It forms an irregular polygon, surrounded by a strong rammed earth wall, covered […]
The Tourist Promotion Center – Casa da Baía is the main municipal tourist office. It provides access to information related to the tourist offer in the historic part of the city, beaches , wine , cultural and gastronomic tourism , municipal events, local tour operators and nature reserves. The promotion, dissemination and commercialization of reference products of the municipality, such as cheese, wines and sweets […]
Badoca Safari Park is a theme park with an area of 90 hectares, which invites nature lovers to spend a different day and get to know the beauty of animal life, in complete freedom. Located in the Alentejo, in Vila Nova de Santo André, between the plain and the sea, just over an hour from Lisbon, […]
Alimos is a municipality in South Athens, Greece. It was formed in 1968 comprising two settlements, the suburban seaside town of Kalamaki, and the inland community of Trachones. Alimos had 41,720 inhabitants in the 2011 world census. History The first settlements uncovered by archeologists in Alimos date back to the Neolithic period, and the excavation site can be found in the region […]