Regis St. Louis

Regis' long-time admiration for wine, rugged coastlines and melancholic music made him easy prey for Portugal. His earliest love affair (sadly unrequited) began with the Alfama some years back, and in subsequent trips he has fallen for huge swaths of the Alentejo, the Minho and the magnificent Douro valley. On his most recent journey, he drank mead with armour-wearing warriors at a medieval fair, clambered around countless old castles and celebrated with hammer-wielding Braga folk at the Festa de São João. Regis has written more than a dozen guidebooks for Lonely Planet, and his travel essays have appeared in the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune among other publications. He lives in New York City.