Kampaoh Praia de Angeiras

No visit to the magical city of Porto (20 minutes’ drive) is complete without visiting one of the port wine warehouses that sit along the River Douro – all tours wind up with a very welcome sampling session and the chance to buy some vintage port. Other hit-list city sights include the wonderfully ornate Palácio da Bolsa and – for art-lovers – the sleek Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Serralves. If you’re visiting Porto in the evening, take a sunset stroll across the Gustave Eiffel-built Ponte de Dom Luis I bridge for views over red rooftops and then head to the pretty La Ribeira district to sample some traditional Portuguese cuisine. Round off your night listening to haunting ‘fado’ music in an old-world bar. Nicknamed the ‘Portuguese Rome’, enticing Braga (40 minutes) repays a day trip with cathedrals, churches, episcopal palaces and history museums. Be sure to see the baroque Bom Jesus do Monte (50 minutes) on Monte Espinho, where you can scale a monumental staircase (or cheat and take the funicular) up to the country’s most important pilgrimage church.