Pena Palace in Sintra, Portugal

Jews lived in Portugal for centuries, both during the Moorish period and after the Christian conquest. My husband, Jerry, and I took an excellent, 10-day customized tour of Portugal and Morocco, with an emphasis on the history and culture of Jews in both countries. We arranged it with Heritage Tours (New York, NY; 800/378-4555, http://htprivatetravel.com). In Portugal we visited Lisbon, Sintra and Óbidos. In Sintra, don’t miss the Pena Palace (pictured above, behind Nili); I have never seen anything like it except maybe at Disneyland. In Tomar, what had been a synagogue in the 15th century and then a prison is now a Jewish museum run by a lovely family. Our last stop in Portugal was Castelo de Vide, a beautiful walled town with a 13th-century synagogue. — NILI OLAY, New York, NY