Alenquer Camping - Casal das Pedras
E.N. nº 9, Km 94
2580-330 Alenquer - Portugal
Phone / Fax: +351 263 710 375
Mobile:+351 93 428 93 75
Phone:+351 21 355 20 70
Fax:+351 21 354 85 40
www.dosdin.pt/agirdrin E-mail:
dosdinconsultores@sapo.pt

Campismo Valsereno

Campismo Valsereno
Riodouro 431
4860 Cabeceiras de Basto - Portugal
Tel: 00 35 1253666042
campismovalsereno@hotmail.com

Over the last 2,500 years, Portugal has been variously invaded by the Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Visigoths, Moors, Spaniards, and French. When the English John of Gaunt helped fend off the Spanish in 1386, the Portuguese signed a pledge of friendship known as the Treaty of Windsor that has lasted for over 600 years. The following year, the king married John of Gaunt's daughter Philippa, and their son Henry the Navigator became the inspiration behind Portugal's golden age of discovery. In 1498, the Portuguese sea captain Vasco da Gama made the first successful voyage round the Cape of Good Hope and opened up the sea route to India. In 1500, Cabral sailed west to colonise Brazil. Portugal then spread tentacles across the world to India, China, Indonesia, Africa, and South America, creating an empire of enormous wealth. The economy of present-day Portugal is supported by the export of port and cork, sufficient for almost every wine bottle in the world, although its mainstay is tourism and the millions of holidaymakers who head to the sunny Algarve each year.

Portugal has an immense artistic and cultural heritage, sharing many influences from Europe. Typical artistic achievements include the elaborately decorative azulejos (painted, glazed ceramic tiles), which have formed part of Portuguese architecture since the 1400s, and the mournful, soul-searching songs of fado. The Manueline style of art, noted for its delicate design, life-size figures, and realistic backgrounds, emerged in the early 16th century. Cubism became a popular form in the 20th century, with Paula Rego perhaps one of the best known contemporary painters of Op Art.

Lisbon
The capital, Lisbon (Lisboa), is a city of hills and viewpoints, tumbling down to the River Tagus. Thundering trams and careless cars make the centre as busy as any European capital, but in the ramshackle backstreets of its old bairros (quarters) Portuguese charm reasserts itself. One of the best viewpoints is the Castelo de São Jorge, above the ancient bairro of Alfama, where the dark cavernous cathedral is also found. Cross the main square (the Rossio), to the Bairro Alto, the city nightlife centre, full of picturesque tumbledown houses. On the river front is the exquisite romantic medieval castle, Torre de Belém and adjacent, the striking giant modern Monument to the Discoveries. Close by is the magnificent Jerónimos Monastery. The pick of the city's many museums is the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum featuring world-class historical and art exhibits.

Porto
Second city of Portugal and the home of port wine, Porto (Oporto) is famous for its high-level bridge and its picturesque rabelos (traditional boats for transporting port wine). In reality, however, it's a gritty commercial city. The centre is a jumble so get your bearings by climbing the Torre dos Clérigos. The heart of the old city is the cathedral; below is the Barredo, a vertiginous confusion of shanty houses. Along the riverfront the Cais de Ribeira is an ideal area to eat fresh fish. Other buildings which merit a visit are: the house of Henry the Navigator (Casa do Infante); the Stock Exchange (Pálacio da Bolsa), famous for its Alhambra-inspired Arabian Room; and the lavishly gilded church, the Igreja de São Francisco. The best museum in the city is the Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis with its excellent collection of art and sculpture. The port shippers' lodges are on the south bank at Vila Nova de Gaia. Most offer tours on weekdays.

Évora
The old walled city of Évora is a delightful maze of narrow alleys and historic squares in a superb state of preservation. Five of the city's great sights are on one square, Largo Marquês de Marialva. Most famous is the Roman Temple, the finest Roman monument in the country. Opposite is the church of São João Evangelista featuring stunning azulejos (glazed, coloured tiles). Adjacent, a 600-year-old former monastery is now the highly regarded luxury hotel, Pousada dos Lóios. The Évora Museum, formerly the archbishop's palace, houses important collections of medieval art. Behind it stands the mighty 12th- to 13th-century cathedral. The most memorable sight of all, however, is the macabre Capela dos Ossos in the church of São Francisco, where the skulls and bones of some 5,000 monks line the walls as a grim reminder of mortality.