(Budget Travel) -- Here's a snapshot of Portugal's defining experiences: beaches, cities, and food and wine. Get a sense of which ones fit your travel style and your budget.



Sandy beaches dot Portugal's rugged coastline.



Find a secluded beach



The Algarve, southern Portugal's balmy riviera, sees nothing but blue sky 300 days of the year. Admire the ocean views from the roof terrace at Dianamar, in the whitewashed old center of Albufeira, just a block from the beach. Rooms are simple, but all have private terraces, and the price includes a generous breakfast buffet and afternoon cake (doubles from $65).



The most dramatic coastline is along the drive to the medieval fortress town of Lagos. (Cars can be rented for around $30 a day in Albufeira; book online with companies like Europcar.) Between Praia de Dona Ana and Porto do Mós, the cliffs have been broken by the wind and sea into jagged rock formations pierced by blowholes and grottoes. Secret half-moon bays of golden sand lie hidden from view from all but the ocean.



An hour beyond Lagos is Europe's southwesternmost point: Cabo São Vicente, a cape whose plunging cliffs are dotted with crumbling medieval churches and castles. More than 500 years ago, Portuguese sailing ships left to explore the world from these shores. There's great hiking in the fragrant pine woods and peach orchards less than 20 miles inland, around the spa town of Monchique -- a cluster of tiny houses and 18th-century mansions tumbling down a steep, wooded valley. The trail up to the Picota peak has magnificent views out over the coast all the way to the cape.



Families from Lisbon take weekends on the beaches of Cascais, less than 20 miles from the capital. There they jostle for space on three broad, short beaches and wander, ice cream in hand, along the ocean esplanade or the clusters of narrow streets crowded around the town's imposing fort.



For wilder, lonelier sand, head to Guincho, four miles west. This sweeping, gently curved shoreline is pounded by some of the best surf in the eastern Atlantic. An almost constant wind makes for superb windsurfing; a world championship is hosted here most Augusts. But watch out for those rips and prepare for cold water. While the Algarve is good for swimming from spring to autumn, you'll need a wet suit around Cascais for all but the summer months.



The town is easily reached from Lisbon; trains leave from Belém station every 15 minutes and take just over half an hour ($4.50 round trip). But if you choose to stay, take a room at the Solar Dom Carlos, a 16th-century manor in a quiet Cascais backstreet (doubles from $30). There's a pocket-size former Royal Chapel on the hotel grounds.



Marvel at opulent chapels and palaces



Lisbon spreads in terra-cotta and cobblestone over seven hills, staring out over the Tagus River to the shimmering Atlantic. A rugged Moorish castle tops the skyline, and the streets are lined with baroque churches and Gaudíesque art nouveau buildings. Budget Travel Trip Coach: Friends explore Lisbon and beyond



Allow at least three days for a first visit, and make time for the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. Extravagantly decorated doorways lead through long cloisters to a church supported by pillars adorned with stone ropes and coils of faux seaweed. These rise to a fan-vaulted ceiling whose thousands of tons of stone somehow look light and airy. Many Portuguese notables are buried at this monastery, including Luís de Camões, author of Portugal's national epic, Os Lusíadas, and the explorer Vasco da Gama.



The Gulbenkian is one of the world's great small museums. Oil magnate Calouste Gulbenkian acquired a huge collection of Egyptian, European and Oriental artifacts and Renaissance art, which was brought to Lisbon after his death. Highlights include intricate Roman jewelry, opulent Moorish carpets and tapestries, paintings by Rembrandt and Van Dyck, and an extensive collection of René Lalique's art nouveau glassware.



Finish your day with a late afternoon's wander around the narrow, cobbled streets of the Bairro Alto
What medieval town can be found while driving along Portugal's most dramatic coastline? Where is the Duoro River? Where is Portugal's most dramatic coastline? What type of castle tops the Lisbon skyline? What type of castle tops the Lisbon skyline along Portugal's most dramatic coastline? Where in Portugal can some of Europe's oldest vine terraces be found? What unusual building can be found near Lisbon ? Where is located Portugal's most dramati coastline ?
Lagos. Portugal's along the drive to the medieval fortress town of Lagos. rugged Moorish A rugged Moorish Algarve, rugged Moorish castle along the drive to the medieval fortress town of Lagos.
question: What medieval town can be found while driving along Portugal's most dramatic coastline?, answer: Lagos. | question: Where is the Duoro River?, answer: Portugal's | question: Where is Portugal's most dramatic coastline?, answer: along the drive to the medieval fortress town of Lagos. | question: What type of castle tops the Lisbon skyline?, answer: rugged Moorish | question: What type of castle tops the Lisbon skyline along Portugal's most dramatic coastline?, answer: A rugged Moorish | question: Where in Portugal can some of Europe's oldest vine terraces be found?, answer: Algarve, | question: What unusual building can be found near Lisbon ?, answer: rugged Moorish castle | question: Where is located Portugal's most dramati coastline ?, answer: along the drive to the medieval fortress town of Lagos.