AP Features, April 16th, 2007
Try a milho frito in Madeira, contemplate the age of exploration in Belem, stay in a king's villa, and consider the potential of empty space at an architecture event in Lisbon.
These are some of the possibilities that a visit to Portugal offers this season.
The architecture festival, called the First Lisbon Architecture Triennial, will focus on "Urban Voids" when it takes place May 31-June 2. Exhibits, seminars and competitions will be themed on the possibilities of regenerating empty urban spaces; http://www.trienaldelisboa.com.
Near Lisbon, Belem has a long history as a home port for Portugal's legendary explorers. You can visit Vasco De Gama's tomb in the limestone Gothic-style Jeronimos Monastery, or picnic under the Tower of Belem, a beacon for returning vessels. Nearby the Monument to the Discoveries is a modern sculpture that pays tribute to the explorers of the past. The Belem Cultural Center, meanwhile, showcases the Berardo Collection of 20th century art including works by Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Salvador Dali.
The Lisbon Village Festival, June 7-24, will showcase digital cinema along with expressionist paintings by Robert de Niro Sr., who was the father of actor Robert de Niro; http://lisbon.villagefestival.net. Other events in Portugal this spring and summer include the Festivity of the Crosses on May 3 in Monsanto, an event in which villagers ascend to a castle while singing and dancing in order to commemorate resistance to an ancient Roman siege; the Estoril Craft Fair, beginning June 21, showcasing works in clay, painted tiles, carvings, and woven linen and wool, along with concerts and traditional food; and the Tour of Portugal bicycle race (Volta a Portugal), Aug. 5-15, http://www.volta-portugal.com/.
Take in a bullfight, Portuguese-style, May-October, every Thursday night and Sunday afternoon at Lisbon's Praca de Touros do Campo Pequeno. In Portugal, the bull is fought on horseback but never killed; the spectacle ends when the bull is escorted from the arena.
On the island of Madeira, have a fried corn square - milho frito - and enjoy the warm weather by playing golf. Portugal has 70 courses around the country and each year hosts the Madeira Open, the Portuguese Open in the Algarve, and the Estoril Open.
New hotels opening in Portugal this year include the five-star Real Villa Italia Hotel & Spa in Cascais, outside Lisbon, located in the restored residence of an Italian king, Humberto II; the country's first Westin at Campo Real near Obidos; the Aquapura Douro Hotel in the Douro Valley; the renovated Sheraton Lisboa and the Hotel Portas da Lagoa in Evora/Alentejo. A new design hotel, Jeronimos 8, will open in May in Belem.
