Luxury holidays in Ribatejo

It may be a brutal end, but at least Portugal's prize fighting bulls spend most of their days relaxing in the golden pastures of Ribatejo (literally 'Up Tejo', in reference to the river Tagus that empties into the Atlantic near Lisbon), or in and around the region's pretty capital, Santarém. Neither bordering Spain nor fringed by ocean, Ribatejo is mostly agricultural plains and river banks dotted with gently ruinous Templar castles and quiet farmsteads.

When to go

It can be deceptively cold in Portugal's interior during the winter, and summers are predictably roasting.