Portugal

Portugal is Europe's westernmost country and the one that has lived the longest by turning its back on the rest of the continent. This can still be felt in the food, the wine and the prices.

The wine is the single strongest reason to come. Wine Tours of Portugal from Porto to Madeira is our most in-depth tour of the country ever, covering the Douro Valley, which was the world's first demarcated wine region — a century and a half before Bordeaux.

Porto is the base for most of it. Where to stay in Porto is decided by neighborhood, because the city is steep enough that the address determines how much walking you do.

At the table, there's a rule everyone encounters: couvert — what comes to the table unsolicited — is not free, and it's neither cheating nor service, but custom. Portuguese food explains the rest.

To the south is the coast. The Algarve has rocky coastlines rather than endless beaches, and Vale do Lobo is the course that most golf trips to the country are built around. Farther out lies Porto Santo , an island of nine kilometers of beach and almost nothing else.

North to South: our page on Portugal.