Portugal

With its temperate climate and fantastic beach resorts, Portugal is an established holiday favourite, but offers so much more than sun, sea and sand. As well as striking, cosmopolitan cities, including a capital where the sun sets over the sea, a wealth of World Heritage sites and pretty villages and countryside, Portugal has a thriving wine industry and its own unique Mediterranean cuisine.

Portuguese cuisine is characterised by rich, filling and full-flavoured dishes and the influence of former colonial possessions is clear, especially in the wide variety of spices used. These include piri piri (small, fiery chilli peppers), as well as cinnamon, vanilla and saffron. There are also Arab and Moorish influences, especially in the southern part of the country.