on a rich and varied cuisine that’s rooted in tradition and dominated by superlative seafood and wines. Crammed into a country the size of Maine are 17 UNESCO cultural World Heritage Sites, ranging from the rolling hillside vineyards above the River Douro and the mysterious stronghold of the Knights Templar in Tomar, to historic cities like Évora, Guimarães, and Angra do Heroísmo in the Azores islands. If your goal is relaxing in a year-round subtropical springtime, Madeira Island is the place.
Those seeking a more active break can hike the mountain wildernesses of the Peneda-Gerês National Park or Serra da Estrela highlands; race speedboats to watch dolphins frolic off Algarve beaches; or play a round on world-class golf courses. All that combined with its reputation for safety, low crime, and warm hospitality have made Portugal one of Europe’s hottest destinations.
Cities Spread along the broad estuary of the River Tagus, Lisbon is the country’s political, economic, and cultural heart. It enjoys more sunshine than Madrid, Rome, or Athens. Commuter trains run from downtown to Atlantic beaches in minutes. There are gilded theaters, treasure-packed museums, and atmospheric old neighborhoods that recall the 15th-century golden age of Portuguese discoveries. Second city Porto is fast catching up as a city-trip destination, thanks to its UNESCO World Heritage riverside heart, cultural scene, and established reputation as a capital of cool. The ancient university city of Coimbra is regarded as Portugal’s most romantic, while regional centers like Guimarães and Braga in the far north, Évora in the Alentejo region, and Funchal on Madeira are treasure houses of tradition and culture.
Countryside For a small country, Portugal boasts a richly diverse landscape. The southern Algarve region is redolent of the Mediterranean, with balmy beaches, almond groves, and citrus plantations. Farther north in the vast rolling plains of the Alentejo, where black pigs feast on acorns under forests of cork oaks to produce fabulous hams. The land is punctuated by picture-perfect whitewashed villages. In the rugged interior of the central Beiras region, mainland Portugal’s highest peaks are found in the Serra da Estrella mountain range, home to the country’s only ski resort. Vine-covered slopes surround the River Douro inland from Porto, arguably the world’s most beautiful wine region. Beyond, the northwest Minho region is verdant and dotted with elegant manor houses, while Tràs-os-Montes to the northeast is marked by starkly beautiful high plateaus and a cuisine as robust as its climate. Madeira is known as the island of eternal spring, and the nine islands of the Azores display dramatic volcanic landscapes surrounded by the blue Atlantic.
Eating & Drinking The Portuguese love to eat, and restaurant attendance in the nation is among Europe’s highest. Fortunately, eating out costs less here than just about anywhere in Western Europe. Portuguese cuisine isn’t as well-known as it should be, perhaps because it depends heavily on fresh local ingredients—fish newly plucked from the Atlantic, a multitude of seasonal fruits and vegetables that ripen in the warm climate, beef raised on lush northern pastures, lamb nourished on spring flowers.
Coast The Algarve is Portugal’s premier vacation region, its sheltered south coast is strung with beaches that range from flat, gently sloping sandbar islands (reached by bridge or boat close to the border with Spanish Andalusia) to the iconic coves hidden between honeycomb cliffs near the towns of Lagos and Albufeira. Unfortunately, some of the resort towns in the Algarve’s central strip suffer from the excesses of mass tourism with strips of ugly high-rise condos and bargain-booze bars, but beyond the dramatic headland of Europe’s most southwesterly point at Sagres, the coast changes. Wind and waves make the wild west a paradise for surfers and sailors. The world’s biggest surfed waves crash ashore near the picturesque fishing port of Nazaré. Even along the west coast, however, there are sheltered beaches—the soft white sands and gentle bays just south of Lisbon at Comporta and Arrábida are a delight.
Portugal’s best Authentic Experiences
Fado: There are many places to experience Lisbon’s unique fado music: from backstreet dives where the cook may step out of the kitchen to give voice to her emotions by bursting into song, to fancy clubs where you’ll pay dearly to dine accompanied by a renowned diva, to concert halls packed with thousands of fans gathered to hear one of the genre’s big stars. Fado’s bluesy blend of voice and guitar strives to capture the pain of lost love and longing for homelands left behind, all bound up with the untranslatable feeling they call saudade, which is deeply bound up with Portugal’s national character.
Market shopping: Portugal’s daily food markets have suffered from superstore competition, but most showcase an array of fresh products that make them a must for anybody interested in food. They are not for the faint-hearted: butchers’ stalls proudly present glistering arrays of offal, and fishmongers cheerfully gut and scale the day’s catch. Naturally grown fruits and vegetables may lack the shine and same-shape regularity of supermarket goods, but will taste oh so much better. Those in Setúbal, Funchal, and Olhão are among the best.
Hitting a hot tub: Hot springs bubble up from Portugal’s hills and plains. Spa resorts are scattered about the country. Some have roots going back to Roman times; many maintain an old-world elegance with splendid Belle Epoque hotels or Art Deco baths in marble, brass, and painted azulejo tiles. The charm can be a little faded in some places, but plenty have been restored to their full glory.
Downing a bica: In a country whose former colonies included Brazil, Angola, and East Timor, it’s no surprise that the country is hooked on coffee. Although you can find local equivalents of lattes and flat whites, the Portuguese mostly get their caffeine fix through tiny espresso shots known as a bica, or simply a café. If you want to blend in, eschew pavement terraces and join the locals lined up at the counter in countless cafes to knock back their bicas, quite possibly with a custard-filled pastel de nata or another treat from the selection of pastries on show. See p. 106.
Chilling on a beach: While the English complain “it’s not my cup of tea,” the Portuguese say “não é a minha praia”—“it’s not my beach.” The phrase shows how central the beach is to Portuguese life. Inhabitants of Lisbon and Porto will rush out to the cities’ suburban shores at weekends, even in mornings and evenings before and after work. Most beaches have cool bars or restaurants that serve up wonderful fresh shellfish or grilled fish. Surfers from around the world flock to ride the rollers along the west coast at places like Aljezur, Ericeira, and Peniche.
Wine tasting at a quinta: Port wine from the Douro region has been a major Portuguese export for centuries, but the world has only recently woken up to the wonders of the country’s other wines: darkly brooding reds, playful white vinho verdes from the Minho, bubbly espumantes, sweet moscatels. Excellent tipples are produced the length and breadth of the country, but the Douro region’s terraced hills stand out for their beauty. Sampling wines in one of the Douro’s historic estates (quintas) while gazing out over the landscape is unforgettable.
Watching the sun set at the end of the earth: The ancients believed the remote Sagres Peninsula at the southwestern tip of Europe was the end of the earth. Prince Henry the Navigator set up there to plot the Age of Discoveries. There are few better places to watch the sun go down. Crowds gather around the clifftop fort and lighthouse at nearby Cape St. Vincent to see the sun turn the sky orange before sinking beneath the waves. There’s nothing but the Atlantic between here and New York. The cocktails served in the fortress cafe help keep out the sometimes chilly winds.
Party with the saints: Lisbon’s biggest party comes on June 13. To honor Saint Anthony (Santo António), its patron, the city engages in all-night revelry. The
