Portugal is finally coming out of its shell and being recognized as a must-see destination along with its European brethren. Tucked on the end of the European continent and bordered by the Atlantic ocean, Portugal has a diverse history from its time under Moorish control, to Roman occupation, to the monarchy of Spain, to the largest empire in the world, to a republic, to a fascist dictatorship, and now, finally, flourishing into its own after signing its constitution in 1976.
The real question is what hasn’t happened in Portuguese history?
The Portuguese people have a lot of pride in their history, cities, food, and culture and are eager to share that pride with you if you ask. It’s especially interesting to see the differences in culture between different regions, for example between Lisbon and Porto. Portugal’s experience has not been a monolith, so I’d encourage you to explore beyond a single city in Portugal to take in as much as you can.
Fast Facts
- There are still many places in Portugal that are cash only (or, more confusingly, only accept Portuguese cards), so expect to withdraw Euros and carry cash on hand.
- Thank you in Portuguese varies depending on the gender of the speaker. If you identify as a man, you’ll say obrigado. If you identify as a woman, you’ll say obrigada. Unfortunately, if neither of those options includes you, Portuguese currently doesn’t have a lot of flexibility beyond the gender binary.
- From all my European travelers, the Portuguese people tend to have a higher number and level of English spoken by residents. For the most part, they also have one of the clearest accents I’ve heard, particularly in the cities.
Food
Portuguese people don’t tend to eat dinner until later in the day, beginning around 8/8:30pm. Restaurants are often closed between lunch and dinner hours, so you’ll need to time your meals correctly or start relying on bakeries for sustenance in off hours (honestly, not a bad place to be).
There are plenty of delicious pastries and treats that are known as Portuguese delights, such as pastel de nata, and delicacies specific to a town, like ovos moles in Aveiro and travesseira in Sintra. A lot of Portuguese sweets are egg based because the nuns began baking and selling sweets after the Portuguese republic was formed and disestablished religious institutions. The nuns used egg whites to starch their collars into stiffness, so they turned to the egg yolks as a source of income and survival by creating sweets to sell.
As a coastal country, fish, especially bacalhau (cod), is very present in Portuguese cuisine and restaurants. I feel like I ate fish or seafood every day that I was in Portugal. A quick treat that’s a Portuguese staple is the pasteis de bacalhau. A combination of mashed potatoes, cod, and eggs, scooped onto an oval and deep fried for your delight.
Portugal has a very meat dominant cuisine, but from traveling with a pescatarian, I’m happy to say there’s still plenty of other options. Portugal has a lot of meat-heavy diet because, according to my tour guide, Portugal was a land of heavy labor for so long. Workers needed a very fulfilling meal to keep up their energy throughout the day.
Nothing takes this to the extreme like the Portuguese artery blocker: francesinha. This can only barely be called a sandwich because it does technically have two slices of bread. But between those slices you’ll find a layer of steak, two kinds of sausage (spicy and soft) and ham (sometimes several kinds), all of which is then topped with cheese, a fried egg (sometimes), and a delicious francesinha sauce. I would recommend sharing this dish if you can. Or keep it all to yourself if you’re feeling particularly hungry.
Local, family owned restaurants typically have written chalk boards or hand written parts of their menus for their daily fresh meals. I, and many locals, could not recommend choosing from one of the hand written options enough. They tend to be the freshest option on offer or specialities of the chef. You may have to be a bit adventurous and take a guess at what you’re getting, depending on how well your server speaks your language, but the risk is typically well worth the reward.
When to Visit
I think Portugal is one of those places that has attractions all year round. Deciding when the best time to visit is relies more so on what you want to do there. And even then, my limitations are pretty sparse.
If you want to live your best beach life, travel around May to get the start of ideal weather while avoiding most of the summer crowds. If the Douro Valley if what you’re after, the best times to visit are spring and fall. But they have port and wine for the tasting all year round. Looking to avoid lots of tourists and big crowds? Avoid going in peak summer months (June-August).
Transportation
Portugal is well connected by train, bus, and plane which makes it easy to galavant all across the country.
There are three major airports to consider: Lisbon, Porto, and Faro. Depending on your itinerary, you can fly to or from any of these airports as your travel bookends. While you can fly between any of these airports as well, I personally think it’s not worth the hassle. Unless potentially you’re going between Porto and Faro on a time crunch. There’s so many cheap buses and sligthtly-less-cheap trains between all of these destinations to save you money and don’t add too much travel time (if you factor in travel to and from airports plus security, etc). For the Algarve, you have more flexibility on where you go with buses and trains which can help avoid bigger crowds.
I only used trains for day trips, and they served their purpose well. There are trains for longer distances (between Porto and Lisbon for example) that can be very convenient, but they’re more expensive than buses and can sometimes take the same amount of time. Otherwise, there is the typical mix of commuter and distance trains to spice up your options and travel experience. Commuter trains are very convenient for day trips and give you a nice look at Portugal outside of the big cities. Even if they do get crowded during rush hour.
I used Flixbus during my travels in Portugal, but there are even more bus companies you could take as well. Not to brag, but I feel that I’m a bit of a bus travel connoisseur at this point so I feel I can be somewhat confident in my assessment of Portugal’s Flixbus experience. Overall, I’d recommend it because it’s so easy, cheap, and well connected.
My only complaints came from the seat reservation system, in that sometimes the bus driver would strictly follow seat reservations and free seating, and others wouldn’t honor seat reservations and suddenly everything is free seating. For short trips, this really isn’t that critical, but it can be frustrating to pay extra for your dream seat only to board and find that you paid for nothing.
Popular Destinations
Algarve
Aka (in my opinion) the tourist capital of Portugal. But I can see why it’s so popular.
The Algarve region stretches across the south west coast of Portugal, propped up by stunning sandstone cliffs and bordered by Atlantic beaches. Apparently, the Algarve is also the second largest habitat for chameleons in the world. Unfortunately, I can’t claim to have seen any during my stay.
If you’re looking for a beach vacation, this is the place to be. There are plenty of cities and towns along the coast that offer access to beautiful beaches and fun experiences. Depending on the kind of experience you want (partying, sea adventures, hiking, city life, or a quiet spot to relax), you can choose a different town in the Algarve to make your temporary home. I would recommend doing some research on what towns are best for what you’re looking for, but honestly, you can probably access what you’re looking for from anywhere if it comes to it.
I stayed in Albufeira, which I later found out to be one of the party epicenters of the region. Even though I wasn’t looking for a party time, I still had a great time relaxing and even took a boat tour to see the caves along the western coast. There’s a hop-on, hop-off bus through the Algarve that could be a simple way to get around the region if you don’t have a car yourself.
Faro is the capital of the region and does have an airport for easy access from afar. Otherwise, it’s relatively easy to take trains or buses from larger cities in Portugal, like Lisbon or Porto, into the Algarve at a low cost.
Coimbra
Perfect for a day trip or a good middle spot to stay and venture out from, Coimbra holds a lot of historical significance, especially in its university. The University of Coimbra was initially founded in 1290 in Lisbon and went through a series of relocations until it settled in Coimbra in 1537. The kings and the church held their seats of power here at various points in time – the room where PhD students defend their dissertation is actually in the throne room that was actually the royal throne at one time.
Alongside notable alumni and monarchs, Coimbra’s legacy can also be seen in some pop culture today. They originated the student uniform – including dramatic capes – that inspired certain uniforms in a popular child wizard series and copies in other universities around Portugal and the world.
One of my favorite spots is the Baroque Library (unfortunately, no pictures allowed). There is a ticket required for entry, but the ticket includes entry into all the visitable spots at the university and does have a student discount. This library is intricately carved, painted, and preserved and transports you back in time to make you feel like a medieval student learning from esteemed philosophers and poets alike.
There’s also a beautiful and expansive botanic garden that can take you from the university all the way to the river walk and head of the main street in town. There’s plenty of cafes and restaurants to stop and relax throughout your visit and enjoy some street music or the sounds of children at play.
As with most cities in Portugal, it sits on a hill with the river and main street at the bottom and the university at the top. Be prepared for some stairs and inclined walks during your stay. It does give the university some breathtaking views of the entire city and surrounding area, though, so there’s that.
Douro Valley
If you’re a fan of port or wine, you should also be a fan of the Douro Valley. This is the home to Portugal’s famous port wine – a wine fortified with brandy (or aguardente) to stop the fermentation process to create a product that doesn’t spoil as quickly as wine, tastes sweeter, and still contains a high alcohol content.
Douro Valley is the first demarcated wine region in the world – even before Champagne! This means that the wineries need to submit their port and wines for testing each year for approval that it falls within the requirements and specifications to be considered port or a particular vintage.
Back in the day, port was taken by boat down the Douro river into Porto/Gaia to be stored and sold. This voyage used to take several dangerous weeks through the fast moving and rocky Douro river, but has since moved to trains and now to trucks for a quick and safe transportation. You can still see the rabelo boats sitting along the Douro River in front of the big port houses along the river bank of Gaia across from Porto.
Now, Douro Valley is a great spot for either a wine-tasting day trip from Porto or a fun retreat into the vineyards. There are a few big companies that own and produce around 30% of all port coming out of that region, but there’s still plenty of smaller, family-run vineyards to patronize as well.
There’s a few towns or villages you can stay at if you plan to stay in the area overnight, though they may be harder to find depending on the season. Some of the vineyards actual have bed and breakfasts or other accommodation on site for guests to stay in – which can provide a unique experience for you. Last I heard, Sandeman was planning to turn some of its large barrel casks into accommodations for guests.
It’s much easier in my opinion to stay overnight and be able to explore the region if you have a car. But that also means someone will need to stay sober to take people around to all the tastings on offer. It’s possible that your accommodations may include tasting tours or other transport, but you’ll have to look into that before you go.
I took a day trip from Porto with e.Fun tours and I highly recommend! We were driven from our accommodations in Porto to three different wineries in the Douro Valley – and included lunch! We got to see a large corporation-run winery, a medium-sized winery that provides only direct-to-seller, and a small family-run winery. I got to see a range of different locations and didn’t have to worry about driving or getting home after the 7+ tastings I had that day. I’m sure there are other companies that offer similar excursions and your accommodations can probably provide you with recommendations.
Sintra
Sintra is a must-see day-trip from Lisbon – or overnight stay for those who enjoy a more active stay. Home to a moorish castle and several palaces, Sintra has lots on offer for any visitor. And, in true Portuguese fashion, the good bits are up on top of a mountain!
After a 40 minute train ride from Lisbon, you’ll find an easy bus system ready to take you to all the major sites. You can definitely hit the highlights with just a day trip, but there is so much to see here you could extend to two days if you had the time and desire. Just make sure you avoid what I did and you’ll have a wonderful time!
Lisbon and Porto are the two major cities in Portugal and deserve their own posts to dive into more detail. For now, know that they’re both unique and worthwhile visits during your time in Portugal!
Where will your first stop be in Portugal? Which foods are you most looking forward to trying? What did I miss? Let me know in the comments below!
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