The Times Magazine 57meets the magnificent Costa Vicentina,
where the towering cliffs give way to glorious
long beaches. The waves thunder in from
the Atlantic round here, so the crowd is
young and surfy. Yes, daytrippers roll up in
buses to look at the (rebuilt) fort from which
Henry the Navigator plotted Portugal’s
overseas expansion in the 15th century and
to visit Cape St Vincent just down the road.
But by sunset it’s just a jeans and Havaianas
crowd, drinking beer and carb-loading before
the next day’s wipeouts. Even if you don’t surf,
it’s a damn enticing way to pass an evening.
Stay Memmo Baleeira was founded by a surfer
who used to come to Sagres for childhood
holidays. Set on a cliff above the harbour, it
feels quite Scandi, with supercomfy beds, a spa
and invigorating sea air (memmohotels.com).
Eat It may be a launderette cum café/bar, but
the Laundry Lounge is also the hippest place
in town. Big portions of pan-Pacific food with
a side order of washing machine on full spin.
4 MELIDES
For the past few years, all the fashionable buzz
has been about Comporta, a chic little village
an hour and a half south of Lisbon. The
trouble is it’s all become a bit... sceney. And
expensive. If you prefer your Portugal still to
have a few Portuguese people in it, head half
an hour further south to Melides, an artists’
enclave with a more down-to-earth crowd
(and prices). The place does admittedly have
its esoteric/exclusive side – Melides Art is an
extraordinary art park cum (posh) holiday
village in 270 hectares of pine groves, and
Christian Louboutin, Philippe Starck and
Anselm Kiefer have homes locally – but you
get the same beautiful, 40-mile long beach
as Comporta ( just a different bit of it), cool
shops and rather less blah. At least for the
moment: new villas are springing up and
Christian Louboutin is currently building a
five-star hotel in the village. Best get there
before the hordes descend.Stay Montum Farm Living has stylish, well
thought out cabins dotted around a cork
farm. Settle in for the night and look at the
stars. Heavenly (montumfarmliving.pt).
Eat Sorry, Melides, but you can’t compete with
Cavalarica, a brilliant restaurant in a converted
stable in Comporta. Modern, more-ish
Portuguese food that’s big on local sourcing.5 MONSARAZ
With its endless golden wheat fields, vineyards
and rolling hills, the Alentejo is a natural
charmer, with pockets that are still moderately
undiscovered. But in summer the heat can
get furnace-like. There are two solutions: stay
on the coast or by Alqueva, Europe’s largest
artificial lake, a description that does nothing
to convey the sheer gobsmacking beauty of
the place. You can get a bird’s eye view from
Monsaraz, a hilltop medieval village on one
edge of it, that gives you an unbeatable
panorama of the lake and Spain beyond it.
Monsaraz is a stunner too, with a ruined
castle, interesting little shops, whitewashed
houses and clouds of bougainvillea cascading
down walls. When the sun gets too intense,
just head down the hill to the Blue Flag
lakeside beach for a cooling dip.
Stay Sao Lourenco do Barrocal, a consummate
but casual five-star hotel in a lovingly restored
farm estate. Think Farrow & Ball colours,
charming staff and acres of space (barrocal.pt).
Eat There are more sophisticated restaurants
in Monsaraz, but it’s hard to beat the quality
of the local cheese, black pig ham and tortilla
at the tiny O Gaspacho café, on the main
street. And, yes, they do gazpacho too.TRAVEL
SPECIAL
Picnic at Sao Lourenco do Barrocal, Monsaraz Costa Nova, near AveiroThe walled town of Obidos, Costa da Prata