Algarve, Portugal

The Moors called it Al-Gharb, and, in truth, many centuries after they left, the Algarve remains more North African than European. It is an exquisite collision of cultures. Meals here might start off, in Portuguese style, with fish from a cataplana, a hinged copper cooking vessel, but you soon the tastes of Arabic influence come to life in the sweet almond and honey deserts. The town of Tavira might have 37 churches, but it is still the fret-cut chimneys, mosque-like cupolas and cubist houses dotted across the Algarve that draw the eye. Following in the footsteps of the long-departed Moors is a new civilization of sports lovers, delighting in the year-round sunshine. In the resort of Quinta do Lago, golf is king, with no less than four magnificent championship golf courses. The beach at Quinta do Lago stretches to the horizon and provides the perfect setting for a healthy morning hike or a day of fun with the family among the waves. This is also a land of tranquil, natural beauty with a network of dunes, sand banks, canals and marshes forming the ragged horizon of the Formosa estuary and a natural habitat for all forms of bird and wildlife.