Parque Campismo Rural - Vale do Beijames

When nature becomes too much and a city day is needed, Covilhã is half an hour’s drive from base and a must for getting a good feel for the history of the area. There are plenty of museums to visit, including a fabric museum and a cheese museum (and yes, there’s a cheesy tasting), as well as shops to wander and a spectacular spot for views over the city and back towards Serra da Estrela. Not enough city time? Fundão and Guarda are both within 45 minutes, so head to the former for more museums and the latter for a cathedral, a tower and a castle. Castles are fairly popular around here actually: the 11th-century Castelo de Linhares da Beira is an hour away, as are Castelo de Celerico da Beira and Sabugal Castle, and the first-century Roman villa of Centum Cellas is 25 minutes from base. The particularly pretty village of Castelo Novo is 50 minutes away, and worth the drive for its history (people have been living here for millennia), its cobbled streets and its stone buildings.