Portugal is among the best places to visit in the world, especially the captivating town of Porto. This comfortable town gloats of its village-like plazas, beaches, and antique structures in dazzling azuelo tiles. Moreover, you can locate a nice accommodation at a reasonable price. The accommodations include hotels equipped with enchanting collectibles.
You can also take a convenient ride on a tram to hang around town or jump on a ship on your way to the beach or even train to places across Portugal. You can likewise discover close-by regions in a flat-bottomed boat, and that has the potential to be sufficient to give you a chance to have a look at each excellent place in this town. There is a good reason Portugal continues getting all those travel awards - it is a lovely place to visit!
International Sand Sculpture Festival is the largest sand sculpture festival in the world. People come out from all over the world to witness the 50 sand statues that have been created for the event. Portugal is one of the oldest countries in the world.
Portugal offers exciting activities and friendly locals where you choose what to fill your travel with. Traveling alone can open the doors to a new world. Bring your camera, good shoes and an open mind! Lisbon is a cheap weekend city, safe and friendly locals. Combine city with surf or yoga - in Portugal are many retreats and camps.
 | Benagil caves in Algarve |
See what are the top destinations in Portugal and learn why we are so enthusiastic about Portugal. Below is the list of top places of Portugal that will definitely make your Portugal tour unforgettable.
1. Sintra
Sintra is another spectacular destination nestled in the foothills of the Sintra Mountains on the Lisbon coast. It is a wonderful destination blessed with palaces, palaces, verandah hills, royal retreats, and beautiful villas. Sintra is also an ideal place in Portugal for hiking. In addition, it is one of the top-rated attractions in Portugal which is definitely a must to explore.
Sintra is considered the best excursion to do from Lisbon or from the coastal towns of Cascais and Estoril. Sintra is a Portuguese town that is located between the Sintra Mountains. Hidden among these pine-covered hills are extravagant palaces, opulent mansions and the ruins of an ancient castle. The walk from the historic center to the National Palace of Pena and the Castelo dos Mouros goes up a very steep hill and is quite challenging.
The city of Sintra is the best example of Europe of the colorful and whimsical romantic style of architecture. Some of the major attractions in Sintra are the Monsaret Palace, Peña Palace and the Palace of Morse.
Centered around its 12th-century castle, this is one of Portugal's best-preserved ancient towns. Its maze of cobbled lanes connects whitewashed residences with light blue or yellow trim. The city is also famous for its bookshops, its fresh cherry cocktail, and its lagoon's white sands that open out into the Atlantic nearby. You will fall in love with all the ancient castles and elegant streets. In any way, you can't afford to miss Sintra!
2. Lagos
Laos is located in the unbelievable Algarve region. This adorable little town is all about history and tradition. Lagos is characterized by the caverns and cliffs that enhance the beaches hidden in the bay, making it one of Portugal's most diversified and visited areas. Lagos offers visitors beautiful beaches, energetic nightlife, and a beautiful historic center that has preserved its authentic and traditional charm as a holiday destination.
Lagos is another great destination that is perfect for those seeking adventures, beaches, and amazing backgrounds. Here at this wonderful European destination, you can enjoy the perfect suntan on some beautiful beaches and you can also visit the awe-inspiring Castle of Lagos, the rocks of Ponta de Piede, Igreza de Santo Antonio and ornate. This small town is one of the best places in Portugal to stop and spend a lazy afternoon with some good food.
Look at this fantastic Meia Praia guide, if you want to explore the place.3. Porto
To the north of Lisbon, on the Atlantic Ocean and on the banks of the beautiful Douro is Oporto, the second largest city in Portugal. A tour of the Douro Valley will give you a full day in the Portuguese countryside. The wine culture permeates the route through this fertile valley from the city of Oporto.
Porto is Portugal's most colorful destination and also the second-largest city. This grand attraction of Portugal welcomes tourists with ancient churches and colorful buildings, baroque mansion and Port is known for wine production. In addition, in the heart of Porto, one can spend some time in a pedestrian area, cafes, restaurants, and also shopping on the street.
Porto is a great city, built on the hills at the opening of the Douro river. The city is known for its historic buildings and outstanding monuments; Portugal's second-largest city highlights are a must see! Porto is the city that provided Portugal its name. Although locals will tell you it's most known for its wine known as 'Port.'
This lively city opens itself over the hills overlooking the Douro River in northern Portugal. Among things to do in Porto, take a sunset stroll beside the Douro as the vibrations of music flow from the restaurants and see if you don't want to stay there FOREVER. So, do not wait to plan your trip to Porto, one of the most famous destinations in Portugal.
4. Óbidos
The old town of Óbidos is one of the most charming and well-preserved cities in Portugal. Óbidos is open all year round, and you can wander on its walls for free! If you want to live a fairy tale, there are also rooms you can rent inside the castle, since nowadays it works as a hotel.
5. Lisbon
Meanwhile, solo travel is a growing travel trend, and our choice of solo destination will be Lisbon. The eternal Lisbon, capital of Portugal, is one the most cosmopolitan capitals at the moment. The beautiful city has never been so fashionable, and with the real reason. Lisbon's streets are a bit combined in old and new, Moorish and Portuguese, as the sea and the river embellish the landscape.
Lisbon is the second oldest capital in Europe after Athens. Lisbon is full of rich Portuguese culture, unique architecture, electric streetcars through narrow streets, cool parks, good street art, renowned museums, restaurants, and a delightful climate. The Baixa, Lisbon's center, is the conventional center of life.
There you'll find the old traditional shops. Founded on the margins of the Tagus River and open to the Atlantic, the ancient Lisbon with its seven hills and its decadent appearance continues to maintain an unquestionable charm for the one travelling to Portugal. The best way to get to know Lisbon is to walk on its narrow, cobbled streets, which wind up and down and reach the San Jorge Castle on the traditional tram 28.
One of Lisbon's most popular attractions are the yellow trams, originally called Americanos. They are part of the city's public transport and an ideal way to see Lisbon on. The classic line No. 28 will take you up and down the narrow and steep slopes in the old Lisbon.
While traveling Portugal enjoy a nostalgic fado in Alfama, take a picture with the statue of Fernando Pessoa, savor a coffee and pastéi de nata in Café a Brasileira and walk along the Belem promenade at sunset to watch the sun set over the Tagus. In Belem, one of the most famous and visited districts of Lisbon, there are two emblematic attractions of the golden age of Lisbon.
Alfama, an old Moorish quarter, is the oldest neighborhood in the city acknowledged for its charming architecture and St. George's Castle. Take a tour of one of the old trams (famously Tram 28), which will take you through all the main attractions, patios, and historic districts.
Go to Lisbon if you like your cities beautiful, you like your food fresh, you like your weather warm. Every year, between late April and June, the scene is repeated in the streets of Lisbon. The wonderful jacaranda trees start to bloom. The city is filled with blue and purple flowers, first in the treetops, then on the Portuguese cobblestone pavement.
It's at this time that the city gains shades of blue and purple, with the flower carpets that extend through the streets of the capital and announce the arrival of warmer times. The name of the tree has an indigenous origin - jacarandá, a word from the Tupi-Guarani language. The person responsible for their arrival in Lisbon was Avelar Brotero, director of the Botanical Garden of Ajuda, in the early 1800s, bringing them from South America for their beautiful and different look.
When they arrived, the botanists had serious doubts that they would adapt to the city's climate. But, as you can see today, jacarandas trees came to stay. In Portugal, they only survive in areas below Lisbon, as their tropical DNA doesn't tolerate cold weather. If you are a party character - a night of exploring clubs and bars in Bairro, Alto is one of the most enjoyable things to do in Lisbon. Lisbon also has become one of the most famous stag do destinations.
The main city of Portugal is picture perfect in every way. Draped across a rocky, hilly patch of land, the cobblestone streets and wealth of ceramic tiles give this city a totally unique feel, and are actually thanks to its position as one of history's most famous ports - cultures have always happily mixed here. The food too is delish, with fresh seafood, olive oil and cherry liqueur stacking restaurant menus.
Lisbon is a postcard-perfect destination known for its ancient ruins, deep-rooted history, walled alleyways, white-domed churches, spectacular attractions, and old-school tram rides. The top attractions in Lisbon are of course the Sao Jorge Castle, the Gothic Jeronimos Monastery and the 16th-century Belém Tower.
One is the Tower of Belem, from the 16th century, whose architectural style is representative of the time and typical of Portugal. The other is the Jerónimos Monastery, also in the Manueline style, where Fernando Pessoa is buried.
6. Fatima
Very close to Lisbon is Fatima, one of the most visited religious destinations in the world. Waimea's beautiful, the Gold Coast is paradise. The Douro Valley is surrounded by a view of the Douro River. This amazing destination in Portugal is known for its prime grapes to port wine companies.
In addition, tourists exploring the Douro Valley should not leave the area without tasting the finest port wine. Tourists/travelers traveling to the Darrow Valley can also participate in grape-fed tours.
7. Nazaré
But, if you really want to see something remarkably, awe-inspiring (and any other synonyms you can think of) it's got to be Nazaré. Nazaré lies along Portugal's Silver Coast, about 75 miles north of the capital city of Lisbon. Once just a small fishing village, it has grown into a popular vacation spot, home to a beautiful golden sand beach.
If you look at the top left, you can see a distant spit of land jutting out towards the open sea. This is Nazaré point, the main attraction, a 150-foot cliff standing stark against some of the most powerful swells in the world. Atop the point, rock on rock, is a lighthouse and viewing parapet, small and unassuming against the vast expanse of water it overlooks.
Nazaré point is in the perfect geographic location. Hidden under the ocean's surface and pointing right at it is a giant trench. Over 3 miles at its deepest. The trench acts as a corral, directing huge winter storm currents from the Atlantic towards the shore. As the currents approach, the energy that is usually lost to the shallowing seabed is instead concentrated by the trench until right before the cliff where the only way to go is up.
Through most of the year, Nazaré can easily be mistaken for any other dreamy European beach town. But, as the days turn cool and winter rolls around, the swells start to gather offshore. As the spot gained popularity, friendly competition between surfers started up and the Nazaré Challenge is hosted by the World Surf League (WSL).
Here's how a Nazaré challenge works. Each year, sometime between October and March when conditions are just right, WSL announces the start of the competition. Big wave surfers from around the world who have been waiting for the announcement, will hop on a plane, a boat, whatever's going towards Nazaré. Photographers, journalists, and other surfers also flock in to get a spot at the overlook.
The competition takes place over the course of one day. Each team is called a tow team because the only way to catch and escape waves this big is to use something called tow surfing. Tow surfers use boards designed with straps to hold their feet in place and are towed into the swells behind jet skis. Once the wave is steep enough to ride unassisted the surfer lets go of the tow.
As the jet ski pulls away, the surfer stays on the wave, cutting in the opposite direction of the break. If all goes well, the surfer will ride on, reaching speeds as high as 45 mph, and leading the break until the waves spent. The thing about big waves is they're really goddamn big.
8. Coimbra
Coimbra, located between Oporto and Lisbon is an ancient medieval capital and one of the must see places in Portugal. Crossed by the Mondego River, it is a small city built at various heights and full of charming corners that can be covered in a day. In the center or the upper part, you can discover hidden courtyards while you walk through its narrow cobblestone streets and old buildings.
In this part, in addition to seeing the Old Cathedral and the Arch of Almedina, you can go up to the historic campus of the University of Coimbra, a World Heritage Site, and visit the magnificent Joanina Library. The lower part, the Baixa, revolves around the Praça Do Comércio, is a commercial area of bourgeois houses, which highlights the beautiful Church of São Tiago and Santa Cruz Park. You can get to Coimbra from Oporto by train.
9. Évora
It is one of the best destinations in Portugal for history enthusiasts. Evora is a popular UNESCO World Heritage Site in Portugal and is known for housing some of the historical attractions such as The Roman Temple of Evora, Praca do Giraldo and the Cathedral of Evora, etc. Apart from all this, a major attraction of Evora is known as the Chapel of Bones, with its inner walls decorated with bones and human skulls.
The city of Évora lies in the center of the Alentejo region. The city has many archaeological spots. Évora's streets have the charming Portuguese style and give you the sensation of being somewhere time didn't pass a second. Évora is 2,000 years old and overflowing with Moorish courtyards, Renaissance fountains, Gothic towers, medieval squares, and a labyrinthine of small streets.
10. Aveiro
Aveiro is known as Venice of Portugal. Home to several canals consisting of speed boats and gondolas attached to magnificent canals. It is one of the postcard-perfect destinations in Portugal, also known for housing historical sites, serene beaches, delectable cuisine, and amazing attractions. Here at this famous site in Portugal, some spectacular tourist spots can be found, including Aveiro Cathedral, Convento de Jesus and Sao Goncalinho, etc.
Placed alongside the Ria de Aveiro lagoon, Aveiro is a happy city whose nickname is 'The Venice of Portugal' because of its charming bridges, high-prow boats, and the lovely network of canals. The town has an extensive history. In the canals cross Aveiro, and along these waterways, colorful and traditional fishing boats sail, an occupation that used to be the city's main activity.
The fishermen lived in these colored houses since a long time back, with quite a style.
Plan a Portugal tour if you always dream of discovering a destination that can make your travel friends jealous. This magnificent destination has been blessed with magnificent palaces, stunning beaches. The sun-kissed seaside cities, amazing stone villages, attractive cuisines and inexpensive wines make Portugal one of the best European destinations.
All these places have their own specialization and that will totally freeze your mind and definitely create some magical memories for a long time. Planning for a budget trip but don't know where to start. So, visit these places in Portugal.
