Deborah O’Donoghue is a reporter at Travel Tomorrow. This British-Irish writer lived in the UK and France before moving to Belgium. She has travelled all over the world and worked in car body repairs, in the best fish ‘n’ chip shop in Brighton, and been a gopher in a comedy club, as well as a teacher. She’s a past winner of the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association Short Story Prize. Her début novel, Sea of Bones, was published by the UK's Legend Press in 2019 and Droemer Knaur Germany in 2021.
João Leite is a councillor in Santarém, Portugal, with responsibility for urban revitalisation and tourism. I met him on a November morning at Quinta das Rolas, […]
Owner Jorge Cancela at Landscape Farm first saw the rolling hills and valleys north of Santarém when he arrived as a boy, a 12-year-old sent from Lisbon to […]
A statue of King Leopold II on Brussels’s Place du Trône could be melted down for scrap, as Belgium reckons with its horrific colonial history. But […]
1. Quinta da Cabrita Just 45 minutes from Lisbon and 10 minutes from Santarém, this is an 18th century farm and its grounds, appealingly guarded by […]
Santarém, just an hour from Lisbon in the heart of Ribatejo region, is a dream for fans of architecture. Known as the ‘Gothic Capital’, it possesses so many Gothic monuments that it single-handedly provides a journey […]
Travellers have always known what Gen Z have apparently now discovered: experiences are more meaningful than material goods. And in a world where everyone is competing […]
With a growing reputation among food-lovers, this historic and up-and-coming Portuguese city, just an hour from Lisbon and easily accessible by car or train, has everything […]
From beautiful abbeys to cosy brown bars and modern craft offerings, Leuven has everything to recommend itself to beer lovers, families and friends. Here’s a round-up […]
In the heart of Leuven just off the Grote Markt, sits a little shop called Leuven Leisure, where the friendly folk at Beer Hop await. With names that […]
Most of us have a dreamlike idea of Christmas shopping. Snowflakes gently falling on our warm woollen hats while we stroll from twinkling emporium to cosy […]
Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Santarém’s award-winning Gastronomy Festival is a landmark event in the Portuguese gourmet calendar. Every autumn, restaurants from all over the […]
Leuven is just a short train ride from Brussels and offers the perfect escape from the Belgian capital. With BANG! Festival happening in Leuven this autumn and winter, I seized the opportunity and […]