Notes from the coast

Occasional writing on Portuguese houses, the people who keep them, and the slow patience of living well in this country.

Douro

A vintage held in trust

Notes from a September harvest at one of the oldest quintas in the Cima Corgo, where the cellar is older than the constitution and the visiting book is kept by hand.

By Inês Vasconcelos18/09/20257 minute read

Comporta

The architecture of pine light

On the precise hour when the Atlantic afternoon turns through the pine, and why every serious house in Comporta is designed around it.

By João Almeida02/08/20255 minute read

Lisbon

Stone, again

A short reading of the limestone fronts of Príncipe Real and Lapa, and what they ask of the people who buy them.

By Margarida Sousa14/06/20256 minute read

Sintra

Houses that prefer mist

The romantic estates of Sintra are misunderstood by the visiting market. A note on why they are also, quietly, the steadiest asset on the peninsula.

By Henrique Pais29/04/20256 minute read

Stewardship

The slow craft of keeping

On gardeners, conservators, household managers and the small, unglamorous skills that keep a Portuguese house upright for a hundred more years.

By Catarina Bispo11/02/20258 minute read