Lonely Planet Portugal
Portugal
Contents
Plan Your Trip
Welcome to Portugal
Portugal's Top 25
Need to Know
First Time Portugal
If You Like
Month by Month
Itineraries
Portugal Outdoors
Eat & Drink Like a Local
Regions at a Glance
On The Road
Lisbon & Around
Lisbon & Around Highlights
Lisbon
Sights
Activities
City Walk
Festivals & Events
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
Around Lisbon
Sintra
West of Sintra
Cascais
Estoril
Queluz
Mafra
Setubal Peninsula
Costa da Caparica
Aldeia do Meco
Cabo Espichel
Sesimbra
Setubal
The Algarve
The Algarve Highlights
Faro
Milreu & Estoi
Sao Bras de Alportel
Olhao
Tavira
Ilha de Tavira
Vila Real de Santo Antonio
Castro Marim
Alcoutim
Loule
Serra do Caldeirao
Albufeira
Carvoeiro
Silves
Portimao
Praia da Rocha
Lagos
Lagos to Sagres
Sagres
North of Sagres
Monchique
Around Monchique
The Alentejo
The Alentejo Highlights
History
Alto Alentejo
Evora
Around Evora
Reguengos de Monsaraz
Monsaraz
Estremoz
Vila Vicosa
Elvas
Portalegre
Castelo de Vide
Marvao
Baixo Alentejo
Beja
Mertola
Castro Verde
Serpa
Moura
Coastal Alentejo
Vila Nova de Milfontes
Zambujeira Do Mar
Porto Covo
Estremadura & Ribatejo
Estremadura & Ribatejo Highlights
Estremadura
Ericeira
Peniche
Reserva Natural da Berlenga
Obidos
Foz do Arelho
Sao Martinho do Porto
Nazare
Alcobaca
Batalha
Leiria
Pinhal de Leiria
Fatima
Porto de Mos
Parque Natural das Serras de Aire e Candeeiros
Ribatejo
Santarem
Constancia & Castelo de Almourol
Tomar
The Beiras
The Beiras Highlights
Beira Litoral
Coimbra
Around Coimbra
Figueira da Foz
Praia de Mira
Aveiro
Piodao
Beira Baixa
Castelo Branco
Monsanto
Idanha-a-Velha
Sortelha
Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela
Seia
Gouveia
Manteigas
Torre
Penhas da Saude
Covilha
Beira Alta
Viseu
Guarda
Trancoso
Almeida
Porto, the Douro & Tras-os-Montes
Porto, the Douro & Tras-os-Montes Highlights
Porto
Vila do Conde
Amarante
Lamego
Around Lamego
Peso da Regua
Alto Douro
Pinhao & Around
Vila Nova de Foz Coa
Tras-os-Montes
Vila Real
Parque Natural do Alvao
Mondim de Basto
Chaves
Braganca
Parque Natural de Montesinho
Miranda do Douro
Parque Natural do Douro Internacional
The Minho
Braga
Barcelos
Bom Jesus do Monte
Guimaraes
Citania de Briteiros
Viana do Castelo
Valenca do Minho
Moncao
Ponte de Lima
Ponte da Barca
Arcos de Valdevez
Parque Nacional da Peneda-Geres
Understand
Understand Portugal
Portugal Today
History
Religion
Art & Architecture
Saudade: the Portuguese Blues
Survive
Directory AZ
Accommodation
Customs Regulations
Discount Cards
Electricity
Embassies & Consulates
GLBTI Travellers
Health
Insurance
Internet Access
Legal Matters
Maps
Money
Opening Hours
Post
Public Holidays
Safe Travel
Telephone
Time
Toilets
Tourist Information
Travellers with Disabilities
Visas
Volunteering
Women Travellers
Work
Transport
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
Language
Behind the Scenes
Our Writers
Special Features
Lisbons Architectural Highs
Beaches of the Algarve
Wines of the Douro
Welcome to Portugal
Medieval castles, cobblestone villages, captivating cities and golden beaches: the Portugal experience can be many things. History, great food and idyllic scenery are just the beginning…
Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês | Jorisvo / Getty Images ©
Ghosts of the Past
Celts, Romans, Visigoths, Moors and Christians all left their mark on the Iberian nation. Here, you can gaze upon 20,000-year-old stone carvings in the Vila Nova de Foz Côa, watch the sunset over mysterious megaliths outside Évora or lose yourself in the elaborate corridors of Unesco World Heritage Sites in Tomar, Belém, Alcobaça or Batalha. You can pack an itinerary visiting palaces set above mist-covered woodlands, craggy clifftop castles and stunningly preserved medieval town centres.
The Portuguese Table
Freshly baked bread, olives, cheese, red wine or crisp vinho verde (young wine), chargrilled fish, cataplana (seafood stew), smoked meats – the Portuguese have perfected the art of cooking simple, delicious meals. Sitting down to table means experiencing the richness of Portugal’s bountiful coastline and fertile countryside. Of course, you don’t have to sit; you can take your piping-hot pastel de nata (custard tart) standing up at an 1837 patisserie in Belém, or wander through scenic vineyards sipping the velvety ports of the Douro Valley. You can shop the produce-filled markets, or book a table in one of the country’s top dining rooms.
Cinematic Scenery
Outside the cities, Portugal’s beauty unfolds in all its startling variety. You can go hiking amid the granite peaks of Parq
ue Nacional da Peneda-Gerês or take in the pristine scenery and historic villages of the little-explored Beiras. Over 800km of coast offers more places to soak up the splendour. Gaze out over dramatic end-of-the-world cliffs, surf stellar breaks off dune-covered beaches or laze peacefully on sandy islands fronting calm blue seas. You’ll find dolphin watching in the lush Sado Estuary, boating and kayaking along the meandering Rio Guadiana, and memorable walks and bike rides all across the country.
Rhythms of Portugal
Festivals pack Portugal’s calendar. Drink, dance and feast your way through all-night revelries like Lisbon’s Festa de Santo António or Porto’s Festa de São João. There are kick-up-your-heels country fairs in the hinterlands, and rock- and world-music fests all along the coast. Any time of year is right to hear the mournful music of fado in the Alfama, join the dance party in Bairro Alto or hit the bars in Porto, Coimbra and Lagos.
Why I Love Portugal
By Regis St Louis, Writer
I’m enamoured by the scenery, the rhythms of village life and Portugal’s outstanding (and underrated) food and wine. I love exploring the hidden beaches along the Costa Vicentina, taking picturesque walks in the Serra da Estrela (where I still bump into shepherds during a day’s outing), and roaming in less-visited corners of the Alentejo – such a magical place for discovering the traditional soul of Portugal. But it’s the Portuguese themselves who make this country so special. Despite the sometimes dour exterior (it’s just a facade!), they’re among the kindest and most warm-hearted people on earth.
Portugal's Top 25
The Alfama
Lisbon’s Alfama district ( GOOGLE MAP ), with its labyrinthine alleyways, hidden courtyards and curving, shadow-filled lanes, is a magical place in which to lose all sense of direction and delve into the soul of the city. You’ll pass breadbox-sized grocers, brilliantly tiled buildings and cosy taverns filled with easygoing chatter, accompanied by the scent of chargrilled sardines and the mournful rhythms of fado drifting in the breeze. Round a bend and catch sight of steeply pitched rooftops leading down to the glittering Tejo, and you'll know you’re hooked…
Farbregas Hareluya / Shutterstock ©
Top Experiences
Porto
It would be hard to dream up a more romantic city than Portugal’s second largest. Laced with narrow pedestrian laneways, Porto is blessed with baroque churches, epic theatres and sprawling plazas. Its Ribeira district – a Unesco World Heritage Site – is just a short walk across a landmark bridge from centuries-old port wineries in Vila Nova de Gaia, where you can sip the world’s best port. And though some walls are crumbling, a sense of renewal – in the form of modern architecture, cosmopolitan restaurants, burgeoning nightlife and a vibrant arts scene – is palpable.
Victor Ovies Arenas / Getty Images ©
Top Experiences
Historic Évora
The Queen of the Alentejo and one of Portugal’s most beautifully preserved medieval towns, Évora is an enchanting place to spend several days delving into the past. Inside the 14th-century walls, Évora’s narrow, winding lanes lead to striking architectural works: an elaborate medieval cathedral and cloisters, Roman ruins and a picturesque town square. Historic and aesthetic virtues aside, Évora is also a lively university town, and its many attractive restaurants serve up excellent, hearty Alentejan cuisine.
Olivier Bigot / 500px ©
Top Experiences
Beaches of the Algarve
Sunseekers have much to celebrate when it comes to beaches. Along Portugal's south coast, the Algarve is home to a wildly varied coastline. There are sandy islands reachable only by boat, dramatic cliff-backed shores, rugged rarely visited beaches and people-packed sands near buzzing nightlife. Days are spent playing in the waves, taking long oceanfront strolls and surfing memorable breaks. For endless days of sun and refreshing ocean temperatures, come in summer; but to escape the crowds, plan a low-season visit, when prices dive and crowds disperse.
Saiko3p / Shutterstock ©
Top Experiences
Seafood
Always a seafaring culture, the Portuguese know a thing or two about cooking fish. Taste the culinary riches of Portugal’s coast in dishes like caldeirada de peixe (fish stew layered with tomatoes, potatoes and rice), açorda de camarãoes (a tasty stew of shrimp, garlic and cilantro thickened with breadcrumbs) or cataplana (shellfish stewed with wine, garlic and tomatoes in a traditional domed copper pan). Algarve luminaries like A Eira do Mel are memorable settings for a seafood feast.
Hlphoto / Shutterstock ©
Top Experiences
Sintra
Less than an hour by train from the capital, Sintra feels like another world. Resembling an illustration from a fairy tale, it is sprinkled with stone-walled taverns and has a whitewashed palace looming over it. Forested hillsides form the backdrop to the village's storybook setting, with imposing castles, mystical gardens, strange mansions and centuries-old monasteries hidden among the woodlands. The fog that sweeps in by night adds another layer of mystery, and cool evenings are best spent fireside in one of Sintra’s many charming B&Bs.
Leoks / Shutterstock ©
Top Experiences
Cabo de São Vicente
There’s something thrilling about standing at Europe’s most southwestern edge, a headland of barren cliffs to which Portuguese sailors bid a nervous farewell as they sailed past, venturing into the unknown during Portugal’s golden years of exploration. The windswept cape is redolent of history – if you squint hard (really hard), you’ll see the ghost of Vasco da Gama sailing past. These days, a fortress and lighthouse perch on the cape and a new museum beautifully highlights Portugal’s maritime-navigation history.
Ventura / Shutterstock ©
Top Experiences
Sipping the Douro
The exquisite Alto Douro wine country is the oldest demarcated wine region on earth. Its steeply terraced hills, stitched together with craggy vines that have produced luscious wines for centuries, loom either side of the Rio Douro. Whether you get here by driving the impossibly scenic back roads, or by train or boat from Porto, take the time to hike, cruise and taste. Countless vintners receive guests for tours, tastings and overnight stays, and if you find one that’s still family owned, you may sample something very old and very special.
Matt Munro / Lonely Planet ©
Top Experiences
Fado
Born in a working-class Lisbon neighbourhood, the melancholic music of fado has been around for centuries. Despite its years, fado remains a living art, heard in tiny family-run restaurants, like A Baîuca, and elegant music halls alike. A lone, powerful voice coupled with the 12-string Portuguese guitarra are all the tools needed to bring some listeners to tears, as songs recall broken hearts, unfulfilled dreams and the lost days of youth. In fado, raw emotion often conveys more than mere lyrics can; even non-Portuguese speakers find themselves moved by great fadistas.
Matt Munro / lonely planet ©
Top Experiences
Ilha de Tavira
Ilha de Tavira has the lot for sunseekers, beach bums, nature lovers (and naturists): kilometre after kilometre of golden beach (think sand, sand, sand, as far as the eye can see), a designated nudist area, transport via miniature train, busy restaurants and a campground. To top it off, it’s part of the protected Parque Natural da Ria Formosa. Outside the high season, the island feels wonderfully remote and empty, but be warned: during high season (July and August) the hordes descend.
Amanda Hall / Robertharding / Getty Images ©
Top Experiences
Parque Natural da Ria Formosa
This special spot feels like it’s in the middle of the wilderness, yet it’s right off the Algarvian coast. Enclosing a vast area of sapais (marshes), salinas (salt pans), creeks and dune islands, the protected lagoon system stretches for an incredible 60km and encompasses 18,000 hectares. And it’s all accessible from various towns – have a boat drop you at a deserted
beach, or amble along the nature trail among the precious wetland bird life.
Marcin Krzyzak / Shutterstock ©
Top Experiences
Megaliths Around Évora
Spiritual, magical, historical, incredible – the many ancient megaliths around Évora will make your hair stand on end. As a traveller, you will more often than not have these sites to yourself – and what better way to ponder the mysteries of places so ancient they cannot fully be explained? How did such massive rocks get hauled into place? Were they fertility symbols or proprietorial land boundaries? They beg questions, yet – refreshingly in a world of reasoning – provide few answers. Somehow, their appeal lies in not knowing.