Low-key Leiria

If you're enticed by the idea of a no-nonsense Portugal-and don't need to be beside the sea-take a look at Leiria, not far from the central coast. Red sandals can be found here for $13, and proper supermarkets as well, free of baying Brits. You can have a three-course lunch for $11.70. For that meager price, I got homemade bean-and-carrot soup, pork slices in cream and mustard sauce, the local version of creme caramel…and a small carafe of wine too.

Break for a brisa
A low-key and mostly modern city, Leiria seems attractive to me. It's not totally modern, either, with an old Moorish castle and a small medieval quarter webbed with 15th-century streets. If your stomach has any space, sit at one of the arcade cafés on the main historic square, Praça Rodrigues Lobo, and try a brisa. Most towns have their own specialty sweet treats. Leiria's are brisas: small, round tarts made from eggs, sugar, and almonds.

For budget travelers, Leiria's good bus services make it a handy base for exploring central Portugal's Ribatejo area. For once, the bus station is on the main shopping street, Herois de Angola. (Who the Heroes of Angola actually were, I've not yet discovered.) The medieval Templar stronghold town of Tomar and the pilgrimage sanctuary of Fatima are both less than an hour eastward. A 45-minute journey west takes you to Nazare on the Costa Prata, Portugal's "Silver Coast." Nearby are the great abbeys of Batalha and Alcobaca.

P.S. Noticing a classy-looking new development only five minutes walk from "Heroes," I called into the on-site sales office. Phase One and Two of Beira Rio are complete-the development is now in Phase Three. The construction company in charge of the project is Habineves, a local family company that has been in the business for almost 30 years.

A young English-speaking guy called Nelson Neves showed me around. Above two floors of galleries for shops and services such as doctors, opticians, and dentists, the apartments are kitted out with Aristo kitchens. They're well finished and come with a fair amount of hi-tech gadgetry and garage space. Two-bedroom, 860-square-foot apartments are $130,000; three-bedroom, almost 1,400-square-foot units are $195,000.

These are high-end prices for Leiria, (1,180-square-foot, new-builds near the railway station start at $120,000) but it's as close as you'll get to the city center. Among those who have already moved into the Beira Rio are numerous doctors and professors. Outside the development, the city council are re-landscaping the park and laying down riverbank walks and cycle paths.

Nelson says his father and uncle who own the business remain resistant to websites--odd, given the high-tech feel of the apartments they're building. If you're in Leiria and want to view the show properties, ring Nelson on his cell phone at 918-145275.