Portugal - JpmGuides
Transcrição
Portugal - JpmGuides
Portugal Martin Gostelow the simple life CONTENTS 3 This Way Portugal 39 51 92 9 Flashback Features Gowns and Ribbons Port Arts and architecture 17 On the Scene 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 95 Dining Out 99 Shopping 103 Sports 106 The Hard Facts 119 Index Around Lisbon Lisbon Metro Porto Leiria Coimbra Faro Algarve Fold-out map Lisbon Portugal painted h istory Maps Lisbon Excursions from Lisbon Costa de Prata Porto (Oporto) The Douro Costa Verde The Northeast The Alentejo The Algarve shaped by the ocean great explorers 17 27 33 45 49 61 69 73 79 3 THIS WAY PORTUG AL From the green valleys of the northwest to the golden beaches of the Algarve, Portugal is a land of fascinating monuments and rich traditions. The interior is dotted with picturesque mountain villages and the coast with crusty port towns. Urban renewal may have modernized the capital, Lisbon, yet it is still as quaint as its jolting trams and cobbled streets. See the Difference A look at the map shows Portugal as a rough rectangle in the southwest of the Iberian peninsula, taking up only about one-sixth of it, while Spain has the lion’s share. About 560 km (350 miles) from north to south and 220 km (140 miles) from east to west, Portugal has a population of just over 10 million. Portugal packs an astounding variety of scenery into its compact space. The breezy west coast has many fine beaches; resort development there is intended to take the pressure off the Algarve, in the south. The fertile northwest is a land of family farms enclosed by stone walls, pretty valleys and wooded hillsides, while the northeastern frontier is bleaker and wilder, its wide open spaces punctuated by outcrops of granite. Northeast of Lisbon, cattle and horses graze the flat plain of the Ribatejo, the home of Portuguese bullfighting. South of the Tagus, the gently rolling Alentejo has been a land of great estates and vineyards since the time of the Romans. Wheatfields stretch from horizon to horizon, relieved by a few coppices of cork oak trees with their oddly blackened trunks. A handful of historic cities stand out in the far distance like white ships. Then the mountains, no longer a barrier, that shelter the Algarve with its marvellous coastline and sunny climate. Land of Explorers Cut off in the past from the rest of Europe by their sometimes hostile neighbour, the Portuguese turned to their only other frontier, the sea. Their explorers sailed the oceans and returned with riches and tales of the world’s wonders. Today, visitors make their own istockphoto.com/Pedrosa Bird’s-eye view over the vineyards and quintas of the Douro Valley. 49 The Douro The Douro river rises in the mountains of northeastern Spain and flows in a westerly direction for 580 km (360 miles). For the next 110 km (70 miles) it forms the international border and then, in its only navigable stretch, cuts across Portugal for 210 km (130 miles) to reach the Atlantic at Porto. Most cruises start here and head upriver. You can spend a week cruising in comfort and style, watching the spectacular scenery unfold. Deep gorges alternate with tranquil valleys and rocky hillsides laboriously sculpted into ancient terraces planted with vines. In tiny villages, women gather to wash clothes in the river. There are places where the road or railway comes close to the banks, and others so remote that not a sign of human habitation can be seen. Here and there the boat stops and lets you ashore for excursions to Romanesque churches, border fortresses, baroque mansions and other historic sites. For most of the way, you are in the officially demarcated Port wine-growing region of the Upper Douro, which was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2001. Visits are made to quintas, the estates where the wine is made before it’s sent to Vila Nova de Gaia. Mooring at different ports of call each night, the voyage continues to Barca de Alva. Just upriver is the Spanish river station of Vega de Terron, where shore excursions set off to the historic city of Salamanca. This is as far as boats can go. Ahead is a long gorge with a succession of rapids where the river falls by 380 m (1,250 ft) in only 50 km (30 miles). More than 3000 years ago, Phoenicians from the eastern Mediterranean set up trading posts near the mouths of rivers on the Iberian peninsula, which were later expanded by the Carthaginians. Later, the Romans built roads and bridges, introduced the cultivation of olives and grapes—still important today—as well as the Latin language. For centuries, floods used to inundate the towns and villages on its banks, but since the 1930s, a series of dams has been built to tame the Douro and provide hydro-electric power. Although there was little traffic, the planners fortunately had the foresight to provide locks so that boats could pass. It is the dimensions of these locks, quite short and narrow, as well as some low bridges, that dictate the size of the vessels that can use the river today. Lower Douro Upstream from Dom Luis I bridge in Porto is the even older Maria Pia railway bridge, designed by Gustave Eiffel (1877). With a 80 ON THE SCENE Cabo de São Vicente Here at the southwestern tip of Europe, the stunted bushes have been bent by Atlantic gales, and the low-slung houses are dug in for self-defence. Yet on a cloudless day when the ocean is as calm as a pond, the “end of the world” seems more like the beginning. The families of the lighthouse guardians huddle together in a compound, once a monastery, at the base of a red-topped beacon. You can look straight down the cliffs to the ocean and roam around the lighthouse complex, where the keepers’ wives take the sun, crocheting baby shoes and bedspreads. Aljezur Founded by the Moors, Aljezur was the last town in the Algarve to fall to the Christian Reconquest, in 1249. The ruins of the castle—all that was left after the 1755 earthquake—stand on a hilltop, the highest of three in this curiously arranged town on the Algarve’s west coast. There are two churches; the newer one up the hill was built by a bishop who tried to move the town to a higher altitude to get away from the mosquitoes, but most of the townsfolk failed to follow. Aljezur is the gateway to some of the wide-open beaches of the west coast, notably Praia de Monte Clérigo and Praia de Arrifana. Patron Saint. Cabo de São Vicente got its name from the 4th-century martyr-priest, St Vincent. During the Islamic occupation, his body was hidden in the Algarve, but as the centuries went by no-one could remember where. After the Christian Reconquest, the legend goes, searchers failed to find the saint’s remains—until a pair of ravens led them to the spot. Then, as the relics were being shipped to Lisbon, the loyal ravens flew along. St Vincent is Lisbon’s patron saint; the seal of the city shows the ravens and a sailing ship. Lagos Phoenicians, Romans and Moors developed Lagos, and parts of the ancient city wall, much restored, still stand guard. But a modern statue of Henry the Navigator, holding a sextant and gazing out at the harbour, recalls the port’s most memorable role in history. Henry was Governor of the Algarve, and this was his capital. His caravels, designed and built in Lagos, sailed from here into the unknown. Captives brought back from Africa were put up for auction in a small arcade, marked “Mercado de Escravos” (slave market), on the northeast side of Henry the Navigator Square. The interior of St Anthony’s Church all but explodes with 18th-century rococo art. On the gilt walls and altar, a convention of angels hold up columns and each other. This was the church of the Lagos regiment of the Portuguese army, and a gravestone in the floor commemorates its Irish commander, Col. Hugh Beatty. istockphoto.com/Silva Igreja de Santo António Next to the church, the museum has displays of archaeology, crafts and ethnography including African sculptures caricaturing Portuguese colonial officials. The religious art includes 16th-century vestments worn at a mass said for King Sebastião just before his suicidal crusade to North Africa. A startling modern statue of Sebastião by João Cutileiro, in Praça Gil Eanes, pictures him as a weird astronaut with a mop of hair covering a cartoon face. hemis.fr/Gardel Museu Regional Lagos is not a resort in itself, but nearby Praia da Luz, once a whaling station, exploits its big, curving bay for water sports. Burgau and Salema to the west are fishing Sunset over Gigante rock at Cabo São Vicente. | Praia da Luz is one of the best beaches near Lagos. | A building faced in tiles in Lagos. istockphoto.com/Leyden Beaches INDEX 119 Albufeira 85 Alcácer do Sal 27–28 Alcobaça 34–35, 77 Alijó 56 Aljezur 80 Alte 89 Alter do Chão 73 Alvor 82 Amarante 67 Armação de Pêra 83 Armona, Ilha da 90 Aveiro 42 Azulejos 100 Bacalhau 96 Barca de Alva 58 Barcelos 61–62 Batalha 35–36, 77 Beja 76–77 Belmonte 71 Berlenga Grande 33 Bitetos 50 Braga 64, 89 Bragança 69 Bravães 63 Cabo de São Vicente 80 Caldas do Gerês 64 – de Manteigas 70–71 – de Monchique 85 Camões 92 Carvoeiro 83 Cascais 28–29 Castelo Branco 71 – de Vide 73 Castro Marim 91 Cetóbriga 27 Chaves 69 Chimneys 84 Cinfães 50 Citánia de Briteiros 65 Cockerel 61 Coimbra 38–42 Baixa 41–42 Fonte das Lágrimas 42 Museu Machado de Castro 41, 66 Santa Clara-a-Nova 42 Santa Clara-a-Velha 42 Sé Velha 41 University 38–41 Conímbriga 42 Convento dos Capuchos 30 Cork 76 Costa da Caparica 27 – do Estoril 28–30 Covilhã 70 Culatra, Ilha da 90 Douro 49–59 Elvas 63, 74 Ericeira 31 Estói 88 Estoril 28–29 Estremoz 73–74 Évora 15, 74–76 Fado 92 Faro 87–88 Fátima 36–37 Festivals 89 Figueira da Foz 42 Fóia 85 Guarda 70 Guimarães 65–67 Idanha-a-Velha 71 Inês de Castro 35 Lagos 80–82 Lamego 53–55 Leiria 36 Linhares 71 Lisbon 17–25 Alfama 17–20 Aqueduto das Aguas Livres 22–23 Avenida da Liberdade 22 Bairro Alto 21–23 Baixa 20–21 Belém 23–25 Berardo Museum 23–24 Campo de Santa Clara 19 Castelo de São Jorge 18 Centro de Arte Moderna 22 Chiado 21 Elevador de Santa Justa 21 Estufa Fria 22 Feira da Ladra 19 Gulbenkian Museum 22, 66 Igreja do Carmo 21 Largo das Portas do Sol 18 Mosteiro dos Jerónimos 24 Miradouro de Santa Luzia 18 Museu de Marinha 24–25 Museu Nacional de Arqueologia 24 – de Arte Antiga 25 – do Azulejo 19–20 – dos Coches 25 Museo do Oriente 25 Oceanarium 7 Old City 17–20 Padrão dos Descobrimentos 23 Panteão de Santa Engrácia 19 Parque Eduardo VII 22 – das Nações 7 Pastelaria Pastéis de Belém 25 Ponte 25 de Abril 25 Rossio 20–21 São Roque 22 São Vicente de Fora 19 Sé 18–19 Torre de Belém 23 Loulé 89 Mafra 30–31 120 INDEX Manueline architecture 93 Marvão 73 Meia Praia 82 Mértola 77 Milreu 89 Mirandela 56–57 Monção 62–63 Monchique 85 Monsanto 71 Monsaraz 76 Monte Gordo 91 Murça 56 Nazaré 34 Óbidos 33 Olhão 90 Olhos de Agua 85–86 Outeiro Machado 69 Palmela 27 Panóias 53 Pena, Palácio da 30 Peneda-Gerés National Park 63–64 Peniche 33 Peso da Régua 52 Pinhão 55 Pocinho 58 Ponta da Piedade 82 – de Sagres 79 Ponte de Barca 63 – de Lima 63 Port wine 51 Portela do Homem 64 Portimão 82 Porto 45–47 Bolsa district 46 Casa Museu Guerra Junqueiro 45 Casa da Música 46–47 Funicular dos Guindais 45 Museu Soares dos Reis 46 Old City 45 General editor Barbara Ender-Jones São Francisco 46 Torre dos Clérigos 46 Waterfront 46 Pousadas 5 Póvoa de Varzim 61 Praia da Rocha 82 Quarteira 86 Queluz 29 Quinta do Lago 86 – de Monserrate 30 – da Regaleira 30 Rates 61 Ria Formosa nature reserve 90 Sabrosa 55–56 Sagres 79 Salamanca (Spain) 58–59 Santa Marinha da Costa 66 São João da Pesqueira 56 Serra da Estrela Nature Reserve 70–71 Sesimbra 27 Setúbal 27 Silves 83–84 Sintra 29–30 Sítio 34 Solar de Mateus 53 Tavira 90–91 Tomar 37–38, 77 Torralta 27 Tróia Peninsula 27 Vale do Lobo 86 Valeira Dam 57 Valença do Minho 62, 63 Viana do Castelo 62, 89 Vila Nova de Gaia 47 Vila Real 52–53 – de Santo António 91 Vila Viçosa 74 Vilamoura 86 Viseu 69–70 Wine harvest 57 Wines 54 Editor Mark Harding Design Karin Palazzolo Layout Luc Malherbe, Matias Jolliet Photo credits P. 1: Agnès Bouteville P. 2: istockphoto.com/Dubrovic (fishing net); Jo Holz (Monument to the Discoveries); fotolia.com/TMAX (Algarve rocks); istockphoto.com/Sevostjanova (seagull); Patrick Franqueville (azulejo) Maps Mathieu Germay JPM Publications Copyright © 2009, 2002 JPM Publications S.A. 12, avenue William-Fraisse, 1006 Lausanne, Suisse [email protected] http://www.jpmguides.com/ All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher. Every care has been taken to verify the information in the guide, but the publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors that may have occurred. If you spot an inaccuracy or a serious omission, please let us know. Printed in Switzerland 12957.00.5272 Weber Benteli/Bienne Edition 2009–2010