Photo by: Nick Karvounis on Unsplash

Portugal 🇵🇹

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Activity

Beautiful wine region.

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Click the link to see all the Algarve ideas.

Trips

Neolithic-era monument featuring many stones standing upright in a circle, some with inscriptions.

Evora other

Tours of the island-bound remains of a Medieval castle on the site of an ancient fortress.

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https://www.tiktok.com/@weportugal/video/7519790770841259282?_t=ZM-8y9epzxA2AI&_r=1

Amarante Cities

Stone aqueduct designed by Francisco de Arruda & built in the 1530s, with a path alongside it.

Evora other

https://www.tiktok.com/@weportugal/video/7559899841929694484?_t=ZM-90Z2joyLVdo&_r=1

Called the Venice of Portugal

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https://maps.google.com/?q=Azenhas+do+Mar,+2705+Colares,+Portugal&ftid=0xd1edc093cd21ebf:0x2600ebbed3cc9822

Sintra other

Inland seaside beach with wide sandbanks

Freshwater Beaches Activity

Clink the link to see all the ideas for the Açores.

Trips

Traditional Braga-style codfish - crispy fried cod with onions, peppers, and golden potatoes. A flavorful twist on bacalhau that’s much more robust than simple preparations

Braga Food Traditional Dish Portuguese Cuisine

https://www.tiktok.com/@weportugal/video/7505857470078684423?_t=ZM-8y5TgXorDEL&_r=1

Barcelos Cities

https://maps.google.com/?q=2440+Batalha,+Portugal&ftid=0xd22754dcc2a014b:0x40721e63fabf1bed

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Vast Gothic monastery dating back to medieval times, constructed over a 150 year period.

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Small, protected archipelago home to nesting gulls, swifts & kestrels, plus dolphins & pilot whales.

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Huge, 19th-century landmark building with rooms for private events, a restaurant & guided tours.

Porto other

Religious retreat with neoclassical church, exhibition & wooded hillside gardens with an elevator.

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Religious retreat with neoclassical church, exhibition & wooded hillside gardens with an elevator.

Braga

Old, walled arboretum covering 105 hectares with 250 tree & shrub species.

Activity

Viewpoint looking out to sea, part of a national park, with a lighthouse housing a tourism office.

Sintra Activity

https://www.cabra-macho.com/

Sintra food

Incredible little local Portuguese tapas restaurant. I especially liked the alcohol-roasted chorizo and olive oil tasting.

Food Pinhão Douro

Pastry shop known for Sintra’s famous queijadas.

Sintra food

http://www.casadofauno.wordpress.com/

Sintra food

Pastry shop known for Sintra’s famous Travesseiro pastry.

Sintra food

Small town an hour away from Lisbon by train. There are several small beaches to swim and great views from cliffs.

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Hilltop ruins of a castle dating to the 1200s offering vistas over the town of Portel.

Evora other

Paths offering panoramic views encircle this cliff-top Moorish castle, built in the 10th century.

Sintra Activity

Well-preserved medieval castle with scenic views & a large group of historic granaries below.

Completed in 1746, this prominent Roman Catholic cathedral offers scenic city views from the tower.

Evora other

A delicious regional dish from Coimbra, slow cooked goat with boiled cabbage and potatoes.

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Ornately sculpted, Manueline style, hilltop Roman Catholic convent with medieval cloisters.

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Dam spillway with a dramatic waterfall-effect look, on an artificial lake accessed via hiking trail.

Activity

https://maps.google.com/?cid=18292253042933753810

https://www.tiktok.com/@exploringelsewhere/video/7320633034040937771

Porto food

https://maps.google.com/?cid=79583764895366963

Quiet beautiful town that’s surrounded by medieval walls.

Evora other

https://maps.google.com/?cid=2813160185410711984

Tasca with incredible seafood and a nice view for sunset. Much quieter than the restaurants along the beachfront.

Sesimbra Food

Heavily fortified installation housing the Regional Office of the National Defense Institute.

other

https://www.tiktok.com/@weportugal/video/7558057922949860625?_t=ZM-90Z7kvDVp6J&_r=1

Great area for hiking and swimming.

Freshwater Beaches Activity

Ridiculous sandwich with a ton of different meat, covered in a tomato beer sauce and cheese.

Food food

Wild and scenic, excellent water quality. Great hiking and swimming.

Activity Freshwater Beaches

https://maps.google.com/?cid=6310803166638536105

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Considered the birthplace of Portugal, home to ancient castles and a medieval city center.

Guimaraes

Imposing Gothic-style church, known for its spooky chapel decorated with human skulls & bones.

Evora Activity

Beautiful church with a nice view for €1.

Guimaraes

Small rocky peninsula with great views of the beach, perfect for sunset.

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Short hiking trail to a beautiful cliff with a cave.

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Lisbon Trips

Glacial valley, crystal-clear mountain water.

Freshwater Beaches Activity

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Trips

Grand European baroque palace & religious complex with ornate monastery, church & renowned library.

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https://maps.google.com/?cid=3012004439658557528

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Mértola was inhabited at least since the Iron Age at least by Conni and Cynetes settlements, was influenced by the Phoenicians and finally named Myrtilis Iulia by the Romans.

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Limestone caves with stalactites, stalagmites, waterfall & underground lake, plus summer water park.

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Viewpoint with some of the best views over Douro valley. The streets are tiny near the miradouro, so it may be best to parallel park in the wider area a few minutes walk away. It was difficult to take turns with arriving cars when we tried to leave.

Douro Pinhão

http://moinhodomquixote.com/

food

Excellent restaurant with a great view of the coast.

Sintra food

Cistercian monastery, with 12th-century origins, with its own church, cloisters & a tiled kitchen.

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Medieval village two hours from Lisbon.

Lisbon other

Ornate 19th-century mansion with Moorish, Gothic & Indian influences, set in botanical gardens.

Sintra other

https://maps.app.goo.gl/FLQufKqh1GrVsb8CA?g_st=com.dennisfalling.Ido.ShareExtension

Lisbon Activity

19th-century, Romanticist palace on a high rock & former monastery site, surrounded by parkland.

Sintra other

Coastal town known for some of the largest waves in the world.

other

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMMk8Yjw3/

Porto food

Medieval residence with period interiors plus a museum including noteworthy tapestries & porcelain.

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM6KsnY8s/

Imported other

The Bussaco Palace is a former Carmelite convent transformed into a Neomanueline‑style palace, built between 1888 and 1907. It now operates as a luxury hotel and is designated as a Portuguese National Monument.

Commissioned by King Carlos I as a royal hunting retreat and dreamt as a Portuguese equivalent of iconic Romantic palaces like Neuschwanstein, it combines architectural grandeur with national symbolism

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Medieval hilltop castle complex with a church, museum, hotel & expansive views of the countryside.

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Mountainous nature reserve with wolves & prehistoric remains, plus campsites & walking trails.

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Coastal natural park with chalk cliffs, caves with bats, a mountain range, forts & a 1500s convent.

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Dramatic coastal scenery with cliffs, beaches & abundant fauna including raptors & sea otters.

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Grass & sand beach bordering the Cávado River, with rental canoes, a terrace cafe & picnic tables.

Activity Freshwater Beaches

https://www.tiktok.com/@happilymilesaway/video/7350620060303609120

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https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMMxcLPkq/

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Egg tart pastry dusted with cinnamon

Food to try food

Tree-lined recreation area with freshwater beaches.

Activity Freshwater Beaches

Gondola to the top of Penha mountain. There are panoramic views of the city, hiking trails, and several restaurants and cafes at the top.

Guimaraes

Once accessible only by foot or mule, Piódão remained isolated until the 1970s and only got paved roads in the early ’70s. That isolation helped preserve its medieval feel: narrow, winding lanes, steep slopes, communal ovens, and wooden-door crosses said to ward off curses.

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https://maps.google.com/?cid=5800394032694067905

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https://maps.google.com/?q=Porto+Covo,+7520,+Portugal&ftid=0xd1bbc9ade3ae6ab:0x500ebbde4910aa0

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Beautiful spiral staircase inside a well, and by far the most popular part of Quinta da Regaleira

Sintra Activity

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMMXdQtf7/

Activity

https://www.tiktok.com/@isa__m_/video/7317340042400189729

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Restaurant with great pregos (steak sandwiches). The french fries and dipping sauces are also great.

Food Guimaraes

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMAs7Wuv5/

Early 20th century-built palace & gardens with underground passages, a chapel & museum, plus events.

Sintra Activity

Pork sandwiches, draft beers & wine are served in this down-to-earth restaurant.

Porto food

There are hour-long river cruises leaving from Pinhão every thirty minutes, and a few every day that are two hours long. You can purchase drinks onboard.

Ensure you’re on one of the larger boats. There are some small boats that don’t allow you to get up and walk around during the cruise.

2025 prices: €12.50 hour cruise €25 two hour cruise with a glass of port wine €3 wine / beer / water

Douro Pinhão

Sanctuary offering panoramic views over Braga city, important pilgrimage site with beautiful baroque architecture

Architecture Braga Religious Site Viewpoint

Historic chapel dating to the 18th century with a Baroque & Rococo facade & an ornate altar.

The highest peak in the area, this lush, forested mountain offers biking, hiking & native wildlife.

There are several beautiful towns with houses and bridges made from stone.

Beautiful town an hour from Lisbon full of castles and palaces.

Sintra other

11th century Moorish palace with notable tile collection plus ornate courtyards & rooms.

Sintra Activity

Old medieval village.

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