Get to know the perfect european holiday destination all year round - Beja

The most notable attraction in Avenida da Liberdade is Avenida da Liberdade itself. This boulevard, built in the 19th century in the style of the Champs-Elysees in Paris, is the main avenue of the city. It runs north for a 1.6 km, from Restauradores Square to Marquês de Pombal Square, and is more than 90m wide. An elegant avenue with fountains, café tables shaded by trees, as well as a cobblestone pavement decorated with unique patterns. A few of the original mansions have been preserved, and many are outstanding from an architectural standpoint. In this avenue, there is also a monument to homage the Heroes of the Great War, a tribute to the 50 000 Portuguese soldiers who fought in World War I. This is also the site of the city's grander hotels and designer shops, including names like Louis Vuitton, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Tods, Burberry, Hugo Boss, Miu Miu, among others. Top things to do in Avenida da Liberdade

The Algarve is continental Portugal’s southernmost region, bathed by the Atlantic sea at its western and southern borders. It was from the Algarve, at Sagres Point, that Prince Henry “The Navigator” launched the Portuguese Age of Maritime Discoveries in the mid-1400’s.  Best known for its amazing soft climate, with plenty of sun throughout the year, this region’s very pleasant weather allows you to discover its gorgeous coastline against which the ocean presents itself with all colours available in the blue specter. Almost always calm and warm, it invites for a long swim or to try some nautical sports. Most of the 4 million tourists that travel to the Algarve each year enter through Faro’s Airport.

Sintra is a magnificent town filled with breathtaking historic palaces and castles, all set around the lush tall hills of the Sintra mountains. Once the royal town of the country, Sintra has been awarded UNESCO World Heritage status and recognised for its incredible history and cultural importance. In the 19th century, Sintra became the first centre of European Romantic architecture by Ferdinand II but has an architecture which dates all the way back to the Moorish empire.

The Marquês of Pombal Square is the heart of modern Lisbon and is known for its huge roundabout and a majestic statue in the middle. This area marks the start of Lisbon’s downtown. It is located between Avenida da Liberdade and the Eduardo VII Park in the parish of Coração de Jesus, being the radiating point for many important avenues: Avenida da Liberdade, Avenida Fontes Pereira de Melo and Duque de Loulé. In the centre, you’ll see an imposing statue by the name of Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, better known as Marquês de Pombal, who lead the reconstruction of the city after it suffered a catastrophic earthquake in 1755. Marquês de Pombal is surrounded by a plethora of corporate headquarters of important companies, including the largest Portuguese banks and several of the world’s famous 5-star hotels.

Overlooking the Mondego river, Coimbra is the fourth-largest urban centre in Portugal, after Lisbon, Porto and Braga. Also known as the university city of Portugal, Coimbra is home to the first university in the country and one of the oldest in Europe. Founded in 1290, the Coimbra’s University Alta and Sofia, are two architectural centres composed of 31 magnificent buildings. Thanks to its important legacy, the University was classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2013. Coimbra is filled with impressive constructions from different periods of history. The Roman occupation left an aqueduct, from which the remains were later incorporated into a medieval renovation. The Muslim settlement brought a fortified palace, that was later used by the early Portuguese Monarchs. During the Middle Ages, a lot of emblematic buildings were built. Examples of those are the Santa Cruz Monastery - the Patheon where the first kings of Portugal are buried - the old Cathedral and the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha - the most important Gothic work in the city. In the Renaissance period, Coimbra was considered one of the main artistic centres of Portugal, with several Manueline and Renaissance works in the town. Coimbra has also been an important musical centre in Portugal for centuries, acclaimed by its own musical genre called “Fado de Coimbra”. It is mostly related to academic traditions and is characterized by the use of a specific guitar, with a specific structure - “Portuguese guitar”.

Beja is located in the southern region of continental Portugal and is believed to have been founded around 400 b.c. by an ancient cell of celts that occupied most territories south of the Tagus river, such as the Alentejo and Setúbal regions. After being a part of the Roman Empire for 600 years and a part of the Arabic Caliphate for 400 years until 1162, the year in which the Christians took the city from Muslim occupation, Beja is now the county’s capital.  The city remained small for the next centuries, although heavily destroyed by the Napoleonic invasions. From the 20th century onwards, some economic development was put in place with the building of new schools, judicial and commercial installations, including the new Beja International Airport in 2011.

Guarda is the capital city of the County to which it borrows its name. The entire region is marked by granite, by the contrasting mountain climate and by its pure, cold air that allows for the curing and manufacture of high-quality smoked meats and cheeses.  After the Roman Empire period, followed periods of occupation by the Visigoths, later by the kingdom of Asturias and also by the Islamic civilizations. Only after the Portuguese reconquest process was it confirmed the importance of the city and the region. The event that clearly marked the birth of the Portuguese Language happened here in Guarda, when a Galician troubadour wrote a song in Portuguese for his beloved lady, in 1189. It is well connected to major Portuguese cities such as Porto and Aveiro by the A25 highway and to Lisbon by the A23 highway. The good geographical position and accessibilities make Guarda an excellent place for the storage and transport of goods from Portugal to the rest of Europe (and vice versa). In this sense, private entities together with the City Council created the Platform Business Initiative Logistics (PLIE), which is a cross-border platform that seeks to boost the regional economy and attract industrial flows and investments.

The Lisbon South Bay area comprises three districts: Almada, Seixal and Barreiro. These three are known for their close historic connection to the Tagus River. From the ancient industries in Barreiro that fed the naval expeditions to África and Índia in the 16th century, to the amazing long sandy beaches of Caparica, Lisbon South Bay welcomes hundreds of thousands of tourists in summertime and surfers all through the year.  Seixal, the district between Almada and Barreiro, was where Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese explorer, built his expedition ships with the help of his brother and father. The Tagus river’s presence greatly affects the region’s economy and the professions that the locals choose. In this sense, this region saw a surge of professions like fishermen, sailors, millers, caulkers, ax carpenters, which, for years, constituted the main way of life of the populations.