Portimão
Housed in a 19th-century fish cannery, the ultramodern, award-winning Museu de Portimão is the city's number-one draw. The museum focuses on three areas:…
Must-see attractions in Portugal
The Algarve
Encased in azulejos, this beautifully maintained museum occupies a former cork magnate’s mansion, which retains its original kitchen. It displays an ever…
Madeira
Top billing on Madeira's north coast goes to this two-for-one attraction just south of São Vicente. The first part of the experience is a guided tour of…
Centro Interpretativo das Memórias da Misericórdia de Braga
Braga
Braga's newest museum is housed inside Palácio do Raio, whose exuberantly tiled rococo façade (by André Soares) is must-see material for any aficionado of…
Peniche
While in Peniche, make sure you do the 8km circuit of the whole headland (walking is hot going, however, as much of it is on the road). At Cabo Carvoeiro,…
The Azores
This hidden lagoon, about 5.5 km from Vila Franca do Campo on The Azores largest island of São Miguel, is an emerald-colored oasis. Surrounded by lush…
Belém
Jutting out onto the Rio Tejo, this Unesco World Heritage–listed fortress epitomises the Age of Discoveries. You'll need to breathe in to climb the narrow…
Portugal
Wild-spending Dom João V poured pots of Brazilian gold into this baroque palace, covering a mind-boggling 4 sq km and comprising a monastery and basilica…
Alfama, Castelo & Graça
A much-loved summertime hang-out of lisboêtas, this miradouro (lookout) sidles up to the baroque Igreja da Graça. It has an incredible view of the castle…
Aliados & Bolhão
The 19th-century, wrought-iron Mercado do Bolhão closed its doors in spring 2018 for a major restoration project. No fixed date had been given for its…
Ribeira
This riverfront promenade is postcard Porto, taking in the whole spectacular sweep of the city, from Ribeira's pastel houses stacked like Lego bricks to…
Lisbon
Lisbon's hub of cutting-edge creativity hosts a dynamic menu of events from live concerts and film screenings to fashion shows and art exhibitions. There…
Madeira
Porto Santo's 7.5km long sandy beach is the reason most people head to Madeira's little sister. The sand is actually tiny pieces of coral that shelve…
Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga – Temporary Exhibitions
Lisbon
Biannual temporary exhibitions within Lisbon's excellent Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga are priced separately from the main museum and reached via this…
Alfama, Castelo & Graça
This original Moorish gateway affords stunning angles over Alfama’s jumble of red rooftops and pastel-coloured houses, underscored by the true blue Rio…
Miradouro do Castelo de São Jorge
Alfama, Castelo & Graça
One of Lisbon's privileged views is on offer from this outstanding lookout point on the grounds of the Castelo de São Jorge.
Parque Arqueológico do Vale do Côa
The Douro
Most visitors to Vila Nova de Foz Côa come for one reason: to see its world-famous gallery of rock art. Although the park is currently an active research…
Museu da Misericórdia do Porto
Ribeira
The Museu da Misericórdia do Porto harmoniously unites cutting-edge architecture, a prized collection of 15th- to 17th-century sacred art and portraiture,…
Sintra
Hidden in the woods is this bewitchingly hobbit-hole-like convent, which was originally built in 1560 to house friars, who lived in incredibly cramped…
Miradouro Panorâmico de Monsanto
Lisbon
Lisbon’s beloved secret viewpoint is a graffiti- and art-plastered building that was once an exclusive high-society restaurant in the late 1960s. A series…
Évora
Set within a beautiful landscape of olive and cork trees stands this huge, spectacular oval of standing stones, 15km west of Évora. It is the Iberian…
Alfama, Castelo & Graça
The fortress-like Sé de Lisboa is one of Lisbon’s icons, built in 1150 on the site of a mosque soon after Christians recaptured the city from the Moors…
Portugal
Versailles’ fanciful cousin-once-removed, the powder-puff Palácio de Queluz was once a hunting lodge, converted in the late 1700s to a royal summer…
Parque Natural do Vale do Guadiana
Mértola
Created in 1995, this zone of hills, plains and deep valleys around Serpa and Mértola shelters the Rio Guadiana, one of Portugal’s largest and most…
Príncipe Real, Santos & Estrela
Discover your inner child at the surprisingly enchanting Museu da Marioneta, a veritable Geppetto’s workshop housed in the 17th-century Convento das…
Lisbon
The beautifully designed Museu do Oriente highlights Portugal’s ties with Asia, from colonial baby steps in Macau to ancestor worship. The cavernous…
Évora
The Great Dolmen of Zambujeiro, 13km southwest of Évora, is Europe’s largest dolmen. Under a huge sheet-metal protective shelter in a field of wildflowers…
Évora
Guarded by a pair of rose granite towers, Évora’s fortress-like medieval cathedral has fabulous cloisters and a museum jam-packed with ecclesiastical…
The Beiras
Trancoso's walled centre is a charming maze of picturesque squares, attractive churches and narrow cobbled lanes. Several medieval gates puncture the…
Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães
Cascais
This whimsical early-19th-century mansion, complete with castle turrets and Arabic cloister, sits in the grounds of the Parque Marechal Carmona.
Foz do Douro
The hum of traffic on the Avenida da Boavista soon fades as you enter the serene, green Parque da Cidade, Portugal's largest urban park. Laced with 10km…
Ribeira
In this handsomely renovated medieval town house, according to legend, Henry the Navigator was born in 1394. The building later served as Porto’s first…
Aliados & Bolhão
Lined with bulging, beaux arts facades and capped by the stately câmara municipal (municipal council), this avenida recalls grand Parisian imitators such…
Miragaia
Blink and you might miss that this is a church in its own right, snuggled as close as it is to the Igreja do Carmo. The twin churches are separated only…
Ribeira
Down by the Rio Douro, narrow streets open out onto a plaza framed by austerely grand, tiled town houses overlooking a picturesque stretch of the river…
Alfama, Castelo & Graça
Lisbon spreads out before you at Graça’s highest of the high, Miradouro da Senhora do Monte. Come for the relaxed vibe and the best views of the castle on…
The Algarve
This huge white-sand beach at the island's eastern end, opposite Tavira, has operators for water sports (such as windsurfing and kitesurfing), beach bars…
Mosteiro de São Vicente de Fora
Alfama, Castelo & Graça
Graça’s Mosteiro de São Vicente de Fora was founded in 1147 and revamped by Italian architect Felipe Terzi in the late 16th century. Since the adjacent…
Alfama, Castelo & Graça
From bougainvillea-clad Miradouro de Santa Luzia, your gaze drifts over a mosaic of rooftops and spires to the river below.
