Before visiting the region of Central Portugal late last year, I had never heard of places like Óbidos, Nazaré, and Piódão– but these distinctive Portuguese villages quickly became some of my favorite 2017 travel memories.

When I think of Portugal, I usually think of very specific foods in very specific places. Porto’s famous francesinha sandwich or Lisbon’s pasteis de Belem (custard tarts), and, of course, Port wine and everything bacalhau (salt cod). When I visited the region of Central Portugal, I’ll admit I had no...

In early October I received an exciting email inviting me on a trip to visit Central Portugal with the Portuguese travel agency Simply B. Based out of Porto, owners Sandra and Victor introduce visitors from all over the world to the delights of Portugal– focusing above all on Porto,...