Portugal Luxury Cruises

Spread over a string of seven hills north of the Rio Tejo (Tagus River) estuary, Lisbon presents an intriguing variety of faces to those who negotiate its switchback streets. In the oldest neighbourhoods, stepped alleys whose street pattern dates back to Moorish times are lined with pastel-color houses decked with laundry; here and there, miradouros (vantage points) afford spectacular river or city views. In the grand 18th-century centre, calçada à portuguesa (black-and-white cobbled mosaic) pavements border wide boulevards and are pure Instagram gold.

When colonists arrived in Madeira in July 1419, the valley they settled was a mass of bright yellow fennel, or funchal in Portuguese. Today the bucolic fields are gone, and the community that replaced them is the self-governing island's bustling business and political centre. Funchal is the only town of any size on the island and the base for the bulk of its tourism thanks to the plethora of hotels, restaurants, bars, cafés, phenomenal coastal and hillside views, and—of course—Madeira wine.

Lively, commercial Oporto is the second largest city in Portugal after Lisbon. Also called Porto for short, the word easily brings to mind the city's most famous product - port wine. Oporto's strategic location on the north bank of the Douro River has accounted for the town's importance since ancient times. The Romans built a fort here where their trading route crossed the Douro, and the Moors brought their own culture to the area.

Portimão is a major fishing port, and significant investment has been poured into transforming it into an attractive port for cruisers as well. The city itself is spacious and has several good shopping streets — many of the more traditional retailers that closed in the wake of the global economic crisis are slowly beginning to show signs of life. There is also a lovely riverside area that just begs to be strolled.

Set on the five-sided island of Faial, Horta is decorated with a colourful cacophony of artworks, which have been daubed across its concrete marina by visitors from around the globe. Left behind by sailors, they tell thrilling stories of life on the high seas. Sitting in the midst of the vast Atlantic, 1,100 miles away from the Portuguese mainland, Horta is the ideal pit-stop for yachts traversing the Atlantic.