Portugal: Lisbon, Porto, and the Algarve — Europe's Most Underrated Country

Portugal is the oldest nation-state in Europe — its borders have been essentially unchanged since 1139, when Afonso Henriques declared himself King of Portugal after defeating the Moors at the Battle of Ourique. It is also the country that launched the Age of Exploration: Vasco da Gama's 1498 voyage to India, Bartolomeu Dias's 1488 rounding of the Cape of Good Hope, Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe (1519–1522), and the establishment of the first global maritime trade network. The legacy of this extraordinary period — the Manueline architecture that fuses Gothic stone with maritime motifs (ropes, coral, armillary spheres), the language spoken by 250 million people across four continents, the azulejo tile tradition that decorates everything from palace walls to metro stations to suburban house façades — is visible everywhere in modern Portugal. It is also a country that, for reasons partly related to its post-colonial melancholy and partly to its decades under the Salazar dictatorship (1932–1968), has only recently been rediscovered by international tourism. The window to experience Portugal before it fully commodifies may already be closing, but it remains exceptional value and genuinely rewarding.

Lisbon: The City of Seven Hills

Lisbon is the most physically dramatic of western European capitals — a city of steep hills and narrow streets, of yellow trams grinding up cobblestones past crumbling azulejo-faced buildings, of miradouros (viewpoints) where the city falls away to the wide silver Tagus below. It is simultaneously one of Europe's oldest cities and one of its most artistically alive: the same city that gave the world fado music and Pessoa's poetry now produces some of Europe's most talked-about contemporary chefs, has a Michelin-starred restaurant count that has doubled in five years, and hosts a nightlife scene (the Bairro Alto and LX Factory in particular) that runs until dawn most weekends.

The Essential Neighbourhoods

• Alfama: The ancient Moorish quarter — the only neighbourhood to survive the 1755 earthquake largely intact — is a maze of narrow lanes, whitewashed walls, and tiled facades descending from the São Jorge Castle to the Tagus waterfront. This is where fado originated and where the best fado houses still operate (A Tasca do Chico, Tasca do Jaime). The Feira da Ladra flea market (Tuesday and Saturday mornings at Campo de Santa Clara) is the best in Lisbon.
• Belém: The westernmost district, where the Tagus opens toward the Atlantic — home to the Jerónimos Monastery (Manueline masterpiece, begun 1501, where Vasco da Gama's tomb lies) and the Torre de Belém (1516, the ceremonial gateway through which the discovery fleets passed). Also home to the Pastéis de Belém bakery — the original custard tart, made to the same recipe since 1837, the queue is worth it.
• LX Factory: A 19th-century industrial complex under the 25 de Abril bridge, repurposed into a creative hub of restaurants, bookshops, galleries, and the best Sunday market in Lisbon. The bookshop (Ler Devagar) occupying a former printing factory — shelves climbing to a high industrial ceiling, a vintage bicycle suspended overhead — is one of the most beautiful bookshops in Europe.

Fado: Portugal's National Music

Fado — from the Latin fatum (fate) — is a form of sung poetry accompanied by the Portuguese guitarra (a 12-string instrument descended from the English guitar, shaped like a mandolin) and the viola baixo (standard acoustic guitar). It emerged in Lisbon's working-class neighbourhoods — particularly Alfama and Mouraria — in the early 19th century, absorbing influences from Moorish, African, and Brazilian musical traditions. Its emotional core is saudade — a Portuguese word famously untranslatable, meaning a nostalgic longing for something lost or absent, the ache of things that were beautiful and are now gone. UNESCO inscribed fado as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2011. The best fado houses in Lisbon require dinner — plan two to three hours for a proper evening.

Sintra: The Fairytale Hill Town

40 minutes by train from Lisbon, Sintra was described by Lord Byron as "the most beautiful village in the world" (in his 1812 poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage) and is among the most visited daytrips in Europe. The UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape includes:

• Palácio da Pena: A 19th-century Romantic palace built by King Ferdinand II (a Bavarian who married the Portuguese queen) on the ruins of a medieval monastery — painted in vivid yellow and red, visible from miles away, sitting above the clouds that frequently envelop Sintra's forested hills. The interior is preserved as it was in 1910 when the royal family fled the Republic.
• Quinta da Regaleira: A Neo-Manueline estate with a garden containing a mysterious initiation well — a 27-metre spiral staircase descending into the earth, designed with Freemason and Rosicrucian symbolism by the Italian stage designer Luigi Manini in 1904–1910. One of the most atmospheric places in Portugal.
• Cabo da Roca: The westernmost point of continental Europe — a clifftop lighthouse on a rocky headland above the Atlantic, where the poet Camões wrote that "here ends the land, and the sea begins."

Porto and the Douro Valley

Porto — the second city, 3.5 hours north by train — is in many ways more immediately loveable than Lisbon: smaller, more compact, with its medieval Ribeira waterfront (UNESCO World Heritage), the port wine lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia directly across the Douro, and a food scene that many visiting chefs now consider the most exciting in Portugal. The Douro Valley — the river gorge of terraced vineyards that produces port wine — is one of the oldest demarcated wine regions in the world (the Marquis of Pombal demarcated it in 1756, making it the third-oldest demarcated wine region after Chianti and Tokaj). A day or overnight trip up the valley by train (the Douro Line from Porto's São Bento station, through 35 tunnels and 30 bridges) is one of the great railway journeys of Europe.

The Algarve: Europe's Best Atlantic Beaches

The Algarve — Portugal's southernmost region, sheltered from the Atlantic's full force by the Sagres headland — has been the dominant beach destination for northern European visitors since the 1960s and remains genuinely exceptional. The coastline divides into two distinct zones:

• The golden coast (east of Lagos): The famous honey-coloured limestone formations — sea stacks, arches, grottos, and sea caves — characteristic of the Ponta da Piedade (Lagos), Praia da Marinha (Lagoa), and Benagil Cave (requiring a kayak or boat tour to enter the sea cave's domed interior, where the ocean light falls through the ceiling onto an interior beach). This is the Algarve of tourism brochures.
• The Costa Vicentina (west of Lagos): The southwest coast facing the Atlantic directly — wilder, less developed, with powerful surf at Sagres, Carrapateira, and Bordeira. The Vicentine Coast Natural Park protects this coastline; development is restricted and the dramatic landscape (black cliffs, tall dunes, clear water) feels untouched by the mass tourism 40km east.

The Food: Pastéis, Bacalhau, and Beyond

• Pastel de nata: The Portuguese custard tart — a flaky pastry shell filled with egg custard, caramelised on top, dusted with cinnamon — was developed by monks at the Jerónimos Monastery (who used egg whites to starch their habits, leaving surplus yolks) and commercialised in 1837 at the adjacent Pastéis de Belém. It is now one of the most replicated pastries in the world, but the original remains the standard.
• Bacalhau (salt cod): Portugal's national ingredient — 365 recipes for 365 days of the year, according to tradition. Bacalhau à Brás (shredded salt cod with eggs and fried potatoes), bacalhau com natas (with cream gratin), and bacalhau à lagareiro (oven-roasted with olive oil and garlic) are the most common preparations. The Portuguese relationship with salt cod dates to the 15th-century Newfoundland fishing expeditions and the necessity of preserving fish for long ocean voyages.
• Francesinha: Porto's contribution to world sandwich culture — layers of cured ham, linguiça sausage, and steak, covered in melted cheese, submerged in a spiced tomato and beer sauce, topped with a fried egg. One of Europe's most aggressively satisfying sandwiches.

Practical Information

• Getting there: Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS) in Lisbon, Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO) in Porto. Both have direct connections from all European hubs and transatlantic flights from the US East Coast (7–8 hours). TAP Air Portugal offers good transatlantic pricing.
• Getting around: Excellent train network (CP — Comboios de Portugal) connects Lisbon to Porto (3h20 by Alfa Pendular express) and Lisbon to the Algarve (Faro, 2h40). Within Lisbon, the historic trams (28 and 15E), metro, and Uber are all reliable. A car is useful in the Algarve and the Douro Valley.
• Best time: April–June (warm, not crowded, wildflowers in bloom) and September–October (warm sea, thinner crowds, harvest season in the Douro). July–August is peak season — hot, crowded, expensive. Winter in Lisbon (November–February) is mild (15–18°C), rainy, and very quiet — the Algarve is cool but sunny and deserted.
• Budget: Portugal remains good value by western European standards. Mid-range: €80–€150/day including accommodation, restaurant meals, and transport. The Algarve in peak season adds a significant premium on accommodation.

Related: Spain: Barcelona, Madrid, and Andalucía | Italy: Rome, Florence, and the Amalfi Coast