Where to go, and when · with the homework done
PONTA DA PIEDADE · THE ALGARVE · MONTH BY MONTH Ponta da Piedade piles ochre sandstone into arches, stacks and sea caves at the southern tip of Lagos, and there are two ways to meet it: down the long staircase to the cove, or by boat through the tunnels. Which month you pick decides which … Read more
ÓBIDOS · PORTUGAL · THE 12-MONTH VERDICT Óbidos is a walled town you can walk the top of, and that one fact sets its calendar. The ramparts are open stone with no shade and no shelter, so the year here sorts itself by rain rather than by heat. Heat barely moves at all: from the … Read more
NAZARÉ · THE TWELVE-MONTH VERDICT · PORTUGAL Nazaré splits in two: the long beach at sea level and the cliff village of Sítio above it. The Atlantic below both stays cold all year, topping out at 65.8°F in October and never reaching the warmth most American swimmers expect from a beach town. What really moves … Read more
FUNCHAL · MADEIRA · BEST TIME TO VISIT Funchal is the rare Atlantic city where the calendar argues over degrees rather than seasons. August afternoons average 80.2°F, February afternoons 67.8°F, and nothing in between ever asks for a winter coat. What actually separates a good week from a soggy one is rain, and rain here … Read more
LAGOS · BEST TIME TO VISIT · 37.1° N Lagos makes its case at the cliff edge above Ponta da Piedade: gold stacks, green water, a stairway down to a boatman. The calendar behind that view surprises most American visitors. Air temperatures peak at 78.6°F in August, the sea peaks two months later at 66.3°F … Read more
GUIMARÃES · PORTUGAL · THE 12-MONTH VERDICT Portugal’s north is green because it rains, and Guimarães takes its share: 6.53 inches in November against 0.65 in July at the reference station. The temperature range is far gentler. Average highs run from 57.2°F in January to 76.6°F in August, a spread of 19.4 degrees across the … Read more
