Day Trips
Across the water: the south bank as a day out
Ten minutes of river separates the city from a different set of towns, beaches and cliffs. It is the closest thing to leaving…
Day Trips
Sintra, the coast, the river and how to reach them without a car.
21 articles · updated August 11, 2026 · page 2 of 2
Day Trips
Sintra is wet because of where the hill stands
The mist, the moss and the strange palaces are all consequences of one piece of geography. Understanding it explains what to wear…
Day Trips
The estuary is a bird reserve, and that is a day out
Upriver from the city the water spreads into shallow marsh and mudflat that feeds enormous numbers of migrating birds. It is close…
Day Trips
The walled towns, and what an hour inside the gate is for
A ring of medieval walls concentrates everything into a few lanes, which is why these towns fill up so fast and empty so completely…
Day Trips
Ocean beach or river beach: two different days
The coast west of the city and the sheltered water inside the river mouth behave nothing alike. Choosing wrongly is the most common…
Day Trips
A headland at the edge of a continent, and why it is always cold there
The westernmost point of mainland Europe is a cliff, a lighthouse and a great deal of wind. The wind is the whole story of the…
Day Trips
The great monasteries sit in small towns, and there is a reason
Enormous religious buildings stand in places with a few thousand residents. The mismatch is the interesting part, and it explains…
Day Trips
Fishing villages that still fish, and the ones that stopped
Some coastal towns still land a catch and some just look like they do. The difference is visible in ten minutes and it changes what…
Day Trips
Cork country, and what a stripped tree tells you
An hour inland the landscape turns to widely spaced oaks with bare red trunks. The spacing, the bark and the numbers painted on…