Inland, along the border, are the fortresses and castles that define Europe’s longest standing border. To begin with, visit Almeida, Castelo Rodrigo and Castelo Mendo. These are just three of twelve historical villages, classified on the merit of their rich heritage and surviving traditional cultural capital.

And the great cities have seen great stone monuments to national historic eras. Visit the historic centres and admire the se cathedrals of Aveiro, Coimbra, Viseu and Guarda. Then, move onto the art collections and museums, including Aveiro with its exhibition housed in the fine Convent of Jesus, the Grão Vasco Museum in Viseu and the Museum of Guarda.

In Castelo Branco, the Museum comes along with adjoining attractive gardens dotted with statues of the kings of Portugal. In Coimbra have the sumptuous Baroque University Library along with an interesting Museum of Physics. And in close proximity, drop in on 2,000 years of history at Conímbriga and the extensive remains of a Roman villa.

For these and so many other reasons, if historic itineraries are for you then the Centro de Portugal are waiting.