CENTER - Central Nacional do Turismo no Espaço Rural

Solares de Portugal is an international symbol of our rich culture, they exemplify the art of living, they provide an opportunity to travel throughout our country, experience our deepest roots and traditions and enjoy the hospitality and warm welcome that characterises all of our family houses.
Patrimony and well-being are an important part of Portuguese culture and motivated our nation’s spirit of challenge and discovery hence our pleasant homes provide an appropriate starting point for many fascinating journeys.

Each of these family houses has its own special character, history and specifications that have changed little over the course of time and this stability and durability are the predominant themes of this book beautifully illustrated with photographs by António Homem Cardoso, Portugal’s leading photographer, with accompanying text by Teresa Carvalho.
It is the culmination of a fruitful partnership with the publishers Edições Inapa and highlights the fine manors, estates and country houses integrated with TURIHAB, the association of the owners founded in 1983, thereby guaranteeing and safeguarding the high standards of service and the genuine hospitality that are a hallmarks of Solares de Portugal.
The certification of TURIHAB, CENTER and the Solares de Portugal network through APCER (The Portuguese Association for Certification) underlines our total commitment to implementing the strict regulations that govern tourist country accommodation and reinforces our determination to maintain and continually improve our services that merit the AICEP “Marca Portugal”.
To achieve and guarantee the quality offered by Solares de Portugal is the result of 25 years of effort of TURIHAB, its partners and, most of all, its association of owners without whom it would not be possible to create a national system of this nature and size.
This commitment to providing high quality accommodation in distinctive family properties is reflected at the European Union level through the network Europe of Traditions and in the South American Mercosul countries with the Fazendas do Brasil. We hope that with this magnificent book we have achieved our objective of inspiring the reader to live the dream and visit the best stately homes in the country and that it will convince them of the vital need for all of us to defend our roots and traditions.
An special edition of the “Solares de Portugal – the art of good living”, with 2.000 copies received financial support from the Leader + programme from the Lima Valey (ADRIL – North Portugal)