Local guides
Places we love around our homes — sights, food, beaches and the practical bits, gathered by the people who live there.
Costa da Caparica
The Serra da Arrábida and Portinho da Arrábida
A green limestone ridge that drops straight into a turquoise sea between Sesimbra and Setúbal — the most striking landscape close to…
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Sesimbra — a fishing town with a castle and a beach
A fishing town in a sheltered south-facing bay on the far side of the Arrábida hills, with warmer, calmer water than the…
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Cascais — the town, the harbour and the beaches
The old fishing town turned resort at the western end of the Lisbon coast railway — compact, walkable, and made for a…
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Cabo da Roca and the Guincho coast
The westernmost point of mainland Europe, and the run of cliffs, dunes and one enormous Atlantic beach between there and Cascais.
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Sintra — the Pena Palace and the Quinta da Regaleira
A cluster of palaces and gardens in wooded hills half an hour west of Lisbon — one of the busiest day trips…
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Parque das Nações and the Oceanário — modern Lisbon by the water
The 1998 world's-fair site, now a riverside district of wide promenades and gardens, with one of the best aquariums in Europe —…
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Cacilhas — the ferry to Lisbon, the Ginjal quay and the old frigate
The ferry terminal across the Tejo from Lisbon, with seafood restaurants, a riverside walk under the cliff, and a nineteenth-century sailing frigate…
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Alicante — the castle, the seafront and kilometre zero
A hilltop castle over the city, a palm-lined marble esplanade, and the point in the town hall from which every height in…
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Villajoyosa — coloured houses and chocolate
A seafront row of houses painted in strong blues, pinks and ochres, and a chocolate-making tradition going back to the nineteenth century.
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Guadalest and the Algar waterfalls
Inland from the coast, about an hour from Dénia: a dramatic castle village above a turquoise reservoir, and a run of river…
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Moraira and Calpe — a harbour, a castle and the Peñón
Two very different towns down the coast from Dénia: low-key Moraira, and Calpe under the great rock of the Peñón de Ifach.
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Xàbia and its coves — Granadella and Portitxol
Dénia's neighbour over the Montgó, with an old town, a fishing port, a sandy strip — and two of the best-known coves…
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From Dénia harbour — boat trips and the island ferries
Coastal excursions in season, and the fast ferry across to Ibiza and Formentera from one of the handiest mainland ports for the…
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Stuttgart
Lakes and woods without leaving Stuttgart
Two easy half-days in nature inside the city limits: the three Parkseen and the Bärenschlössle, and the Max-Eyth-See by the Neckar.
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Dénia
Valencia — a day trip up the coast
A bit over an hour north of Dénia: Calatrava's white city, one of Europe's great food markets, and where paella actually comes…
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