Slip right into Portugal’s sumptuous ‘velvet season’
With balmy days and burnt-orange leaves, hot springs and wine festivals, this welcoming country should be your first port of call this autumn,
Portugal may be synonymous with sun, sea and beach holidays for Britons, but swap the summer crowds for an autumn break and you’ll uncover a treasure trove of seasonal delights. Picture forests draped in golden foliage and vineyards heaving with plump grapes ready to be stomped underfoot. While flocks of migrating birds swoop above the cliff-lined coast of the south, volcanic islands blessed with balmy climates and black-sand beaches also await.
Known as one of Europe’s sunniest countries, Portugal is a beacon of blue skies in the autumn. There is a refreshing tinge to the air, yet temperatures can still climb into the 20s and rainy days are far from the norm. At this time of year, sun-seekers are drawn to the Algarve’s sumptuous sands and the exotic islands of Madeira, in search of languid beach days. With the highseason hordes a distant memory, there is a lazy vibe as once-manic seaside resorts begin to wind down. As the sea swells, bikini-clad tourists are replaced with seal-suited surfers who’ve come to chase the perfect wave.
Meanwhile, autumn’s cooler climes are ideal for crowd-free city sightseeing. Fill your days with tram rides and museum hopping in Lisbon or touring the acclaimed wine cellars that face Porto’s colourful Ribeira. Nature throws up some incredible displays at this time of year too, from whales slicing through Atlantic currents off the Azores to birds making their clockwork pilgrimage to Africa, a phenomenon celebrated by the Sagres Bird Festival.
Those aren’t the only events to get excited about either. In autumn 2021, the Portugal Masters and Madeira Flower Festival, both postponed from the spring due to Covid, will take place.
To discover Portugal’s real autumnal charm though, it pays to head for the countryside. Harvest season is in full swing and vineyards everywhere – from Vinho Verde country in the north to the southern Alentejo region – teem with activity. Of course, it’s the famous Douro Valley that takes centre stage.
Here, patrols of Portuguese pickers pluck grapes from the vines. A sweetsour scent fills the air as the fruit is painstakingly crushed underfoot, continuing a centuries-old Port winemaking tradition that can’t be replicated by machine. Many of the Douro’s lavish quintas invite visitors to join the festivities, culminating in hearty harvest lunches complete with justpicked olives, roasted chestnuts and free-flowing wine.
Aside from the scarlet-gold splendour of harvest in the Douro, there is dazzling autumn colour to satisfy even hardened leaf peepers elsewhere in Portugal. In Peneda-Geres, the country’s only national park, wolves roam indigenous forests aflame with orange leaves, and the highest peaks in the Serra da Estrela are covered with blazing yellow beech trees and spiky chestnut cases.
The fairytale forests of Sintra and lesser-known Bussaco, speckled with spired palaces and medieval castles, have an especially dreamy appeal when the leaves begin to fall. Even the Algarve has some foliage if you venture up to the Monchique hills, where spa getaways and steamy thermal baths are the order of the day.
So, come and experience Portugal’s autumn allure for yourself. It may not be one of the world’s most iconic autumnal hotspots, but if you’re searching for understated beauty, peaceful sightseeing and gentle sunkissed weather, you’ll find all that and more in these Portuguese destinations.
Watch autumn descend on the Douro Valley, painting its terraced vineyards shades of red and gold – a photographer’s paradise. Family-owned wineries hum with harvest activity and grand estates open their doors, inviting guests to take part in grape picking and treading sessions, followed by wholesome harvest feasts paired with the Douro’s renowned wines. Devour this autumnal overload on a road trip, a scenic river cruise or a train ride on the Linha do Douro.
Quinta Nova (00 351 227 475 400; quintanova.com) offers a one-day harvest experience with three-course lunch for £128/€150 per person. Double rooms at the Six Senses Douro Valley (00 351 254 660 600; sixsenses.com) start at £279
Think big: meet the marine life in the protected waters of the Azores
SAGRES
In the windswept south-west corner of Portugal, migratory birds cloud the skies throughout October. Walk along clifftop trails decorated with forts and lighthouses and you will spot an abundance of seabirds, vultures, eagles and storks, all set against a backdrop of crashing waves. The annual Sagres Bird Watching Festival, Portugal’s biggest nature show, takes place at the beginning of October, but you can still catch plenty of beautiful birds heading south well into November.
Stay at the Martinhal Beach Resort and Spa (00 351 218 507 788; martinhal.com/ sagres) from £148/€172 per night and head to birdwatchingsagres.com for tips on the best places to spot birds at sea, on land and in the air.
PENICHE
Surfers are lured to Peniche in autumn for its consistent swells, monster waves and dramatic surf competitions. Following summer, the Atlantic is at its warmest and sun-seekers have largely vacated Peniche’s many sandy beaches, so it’s a great time to ride the waves or join a surf school. Don’t miss Peniche’s notorious Supertubos beach, where 12ft tubular waves can form. It’s here that the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal competition (postponed until 2022) is held in October, attracting the sport’s top names from all over the world.
Double rooms at the Surfers Lodge Peniche (00 351 262 700 030; surferslodgepeniche.com) cost from £76/€89 per night
PENEDA-GERES NATIONAL PARK
Some of Portugal’s most glorious foliage is on show at Peneda-Geres, the country’s only national park. Located in the far north, it’s a natural wonderland of gurgling river valleys, soaring peaks and native forests that explode with toasted browns, yellows and reds in the autumn. You’ll come across ancient granite villages where shepherds and farmers live, while the woods are
populated with rare European animals such as wolves and wild boar. Hike, bike and kayak here to your heart’s content.
Stay at a nearby 12th-century monastery, Pousada Mosteiro de Amares (0203 285 6472; pousadas.pt), where double rooms start at £97/€114 per night. Peneda-Geres day trips with Oporto Adventure Tours (00 351 915 781 103; oportoadventuretours.com) cost from £152/€178 per person
VILAMOURA
Autumn is prime time for golf in the Algarve, thanks to its plentiful sunshine, blue skies and fresh temperatures. The region is a bucket-list destination for the sport, home to more than 30 courses and a host of PGA-led academies. In 2021, there is an extra reason to visit as the Portugal Masters, postponed from the spring due to Covid, will be held in Vilamoura from Nov 4-7. Join spectators at the prestigious Dom Pedro Victoria Course, which was designed by American golfing legend Arnold Palmer.
Portugal Golf Experience (00 351 969 084 954; portugalgolf.net) is offering four-night packages at Anantara Vilamoura that include tickets to the Masters and three rounds of golf from £530/€619 per person
The fairytale forests of Sintra have an especially dreamy appeal
PORTO
Once the summer visitors have departed, Porto’s steep, narrow streets
are a pleasure to wander. Savour long lunches in Ribeira cafes overlooking the steel skeleton of Dom Luis I Bridge, built in the 1880s, while vendors roast chestnuts, seagulls screech and sunshine glitters off boat wakes on the water. There are churches and clock towers to tour, evenings filled with Fado music and port wine cellar tastings to enjoy. Visit in November and you might even catch the traditional magusto street parties, held to celebrate Saint Martin’s day on November 11. Stay at The Yeatman (00 351 220 133 100; the-yeatman-hotel.com), where double rooms cost from £218/€255 per night
EVORA
Evora lies at the heart of Portugal’s Alentejo region, which covers a third of the country yet is home to only 7 per cent of its people. Here, the landscape is a jigsaw puzzle of wheat fields, olive groves and vineyards that produce a bumper autumn harvest. Spend a few days ambling around the cobbled streets of Evora, a Unesco wonder where you can marvel at 16th-century mansions and Portugal’s largest medieval cathedral, then catch the wine harvest at a nearby Alentejo vineyard. Stay at Convento do Espinheiro (00 351 266 788 200; conventodoespinheiro. com) from £128/€150 per night and book a Harvest Experience with Living Tours (00 351 228 320 992; livingtours.com) for £60/€70 per person
MADEIRA
The tiny volcanic island of Madeira offers spring-like climes, subtropical flowers, rushing waterways and black sandy beaches. A patchwork of vineyards produce the island’s signature wine, a tradition celebrated during the autumn harvest with the Madeira Wine Festival. Take part in tastings, listen to live music and even have a go at treading grapes at the event, which coincides this year with the postponed Madeira Flower Festival, known for its extravagant floral parades.
The Madeira Wine Festival
(visitmadeira.pt) and the Madeira Flower Festival (madeiraallyear.com) both run until Oct 24, and are both free. Estalagem Quinta da Casa Branca (00 351 291 700 770; quintacasabranca. com) has double rooms from £175/€205
ALGARVE
If it’s quiet beaches you crave, the Algarve delivers well into the autumn. Characterised by jagged orange cliffs, the paradisiacal coastline has everything from isolated coves such as Salema in the west to blue flag favourites such as Falesia and Praia da Rocha, where rock arches tower. Sea breezes cool the autumn sunshine, just right for sunbathing sessions, while surfers ride the waves and ramblers take to the beloved beach boardwalks. The best can be found in Gale and Quinta do Lago, which both stretch alongside birdinhabited lagoons.
Stay at Vila Vita Parc (00 351 282 310 100; vilavitaparc.com) from £165/€194 per night
SERRA DA ESTRELA
Come to the Serra da Estrela to experience Portugal’s tallest mountains, which culminate at the 6,538ft peak of Torre. The Unescoprotected Geopark is a hiking mecca and provides seasonal spectacles in autumn, from carpets of silky chestnuts to beech-tree forests dripping with crisp yellow leaves. Keen ramblers can take a multiday tour of the area’s little-known hiking network, which takes in glacial valleys, waterfalls and villages where locals sell honey and homemade woollen blankets.
A2Z (00 351 911 122 293; portugal-a2z. com) runs an eight-day guided walking tour in Serra da Estrela from £1,873/€2,190 per person including accommodation, meals and transfers
MONCHIQUE
Up in the Monchique mountains, oak and chestnut woods come alive with autumn colour, best viewed from the 3,000ft Foia peak, which looks all the way out to the glittering coast. You will find hot springs and eco resorts perfect for an autumn getaway. Iberian Escapes offers a week-long wellness package at the five-star Monchique Resort and Spa, which includes fitness activities, treatments and a trip to the Caldas de Monchique, a Roman spa town where you can bathe in healing thermal waters.
A seven-night Wellness Body Balance Retreat in Monchique with Iberian Escapes (00 351 289 009 580; iberianescapes.com) costs from £1,196/€1,302 per person
BUSSACO FOREST
Wake up in a royal palace in the magical Bussaco Forest, one of Portugal’s most underrated national monuments. Constructed in 1907, the Neo-Manueline palace – now a five-star hotel – belonged to the Bishop of Coimbra in the 11th century and is decorated with gargoyles and azulejo tiles. Its turret pokes through trees in the centuries-old forest, which lights up with colour in autumn. Wander its secret pathways surrounded by moss-furred trees and you will stumble upon stone fountains and the remains of hilltop hermitages where Carmelite monks once lived.
A double room at the Bussaco Palace Hotel (00 351 258 821 751; pousadasofportugal.com) costs from £94/€110 per night
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