Three decades after Portugal emerged from its long dictatorship, the economy is waking up. A new-found zeal for reform and a push for more tourism and investment mean that estate agents remain optimistic despite the slowdown in the global housing market.

In the past year, planning and environment laws have been overhauled, and the Government recently confirmed plans for a new airport on the south side of the Tagus river at Alcochete, with plans afoot to build a high-speed rail line to Madrid. Low-cost air travel has also helped to boost the market for second homes in Portugal.

Developers are looking beyond the Algarve, on Portugal's south coast, where prices have almost quadrupled in five years. Instead, investors are increasingly interested in the Alentejo, in the interior, and the west coast. The Portuguese island of Madeira could also become more desirable after easyJet launched daily flights to Funchal from Stansted and three flights a week from Bristol.

However, the Silver Coast, which stretches along the west coast from Lisbon to Porto, has been something of a late bloomer. The region underwent substantial development in the late 1990s but is only now luring Britons away from the Mediterranean. The area is dotted with family-run vineyards, small villages and farmland, before cliffs drop into the Atlantic above beaches beloved by serious surfers. It is also home to the medieval towns of Obidos and Sintra.

Patrick Thornton-Smith, 47, managing director of a City-based software company, bought a four-bed villa at Campo Real for €330,000 (£261,000) last year: “The Silver Coast has different beaches, from pure surf beaches to calm bays. I also like the building restrictions in the region, and the proximity to Lisbon. When we go to the Algarve out of season and it rains, there is precious little to do, and in the summer you can't avoid the English.”

A five-star Westin hotel and spa opened at Campo Real last year. Homes at Campo Real are now sold out and the group is building an adjacent development, The Vineyards, that will have 326 homes, a boutique hotel and a golf course. A two-bedroom apartment will cost about €234,000, a three-bedroom townhouse will be €366,700, and expect to pay €678,300 for a five-bed villa. If new-build is not your thing, a two-bedroom rustic villa with pool is available from Atlantic Homes only a 15-minute drive from Sintra. In the Alentejo region, a four-bedroom villa might cost as little as €130,000, compared with perhaps €350,000 in the Algarve. Rightmove recently offered a two-bedroom apartment for €55,000.

premiercamporeal.co.uk

atlantic-estates.com

rightmove.co.uk

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