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​I’m not much of a souvenir collector when I travel, but something I’ve found to become a cherished keepsake is jewellery. It’s lighter on the suitcase compared to furniture or ceramics, and much less useless than a snow dome or bottle opener (I’ve found zero of the former and just one of the latter sufficient for everyday living). 
 
So, to let you in on Portugal’s precious treasures, I’ll introduce you to the wonderful world of filigree. 

Porto is known as Portugal's second city and is located in the north of the country. It has a very different look and feel to Lisbon – so you should definitely visit both – and is positioned on the bank of the beautiful Douro River (if you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my recent Insta story for @LonelyPlanet about the Douro :-)).

While Porto is traditionally an industrial city (hence the name, given Porto means 'port'), it is now an uber popular travel destination and has enough going on to keep you occupied for days (I'd recommend staying at least three days, if not more).

​This post will guide you to some of the best places to visit in Porto.

Given the world-famous big waves of Nazaré are descending with the turn of the new year (they tend to start pumping from around November), I thought I'd repost an article I wrote about this delightful beach town, which has so much more than just monster surf.

Want to know where to eat, what to do and where to stay in Lisbon? Then read my post for the Peregrine Adventures blog (part of the Intrepid Group), which outlines five of Lisbon's coolest neighbourhoods.

It was with great pleasure that I got to write about my favourite aspect of Porto – the street art – for the Wizz Air inflight magazine. Those who have visited Porto will know it can be a rather mysterious and grey city (and does get a tad gloomy in winter...), but everywhere you look, the walls pop to life with cheeky street art characters. I love it.