Portugal: Lisbon, Porto, and the Douro Valley Wine Country
Portugal has spent the better part of a decade being acclaimed as Europe's most underrated country — which has the effect of making it no longer underrated, though it retains the quality and relative value that earned the description. A country of 92,000 km² and 10 million people punching consistently above its weight class in wine, food, architecture, and natural beauty; the European capital closest to the Atlantic; an empire that once stretched from Brazil to Japan, leaving traces of its history, cuisine, and language on half the world. Lisbon and Porto are two of Europe's most liveable and walkable capital cities; the Douro Valley is among the world's most spectacular wine landscapes. Together, they make a two-week Portuguese itinerary that would be difficult to improve on.
Lisbon: The City of Seven Hills
Lisbon is built on seven hills (colinas) above the Tagus estuary — a geography that makes it simultaneously exhausting to walk (every route involves a significant climb) and visually spectacular from every elevated point. The city's miradouros (viewpoints) — particularly Miradouro da Graça, Santa Catarina, and Portas do Sol — are among Europe's finest city panoramas: orange-tiled rooftops cascading to the broad river, the 25 de Abril Bridge (a close visual cousin to the Golden Gate) spanning the Tagus, and the old fort on the opposite shore.
The essential Lisbon neighbourhoods:
- Alfama: The medieval Moorish quarter — narrow alleys, drying laundry, the sound of fado (Portugal's melancholy blues tradition, UNESCO-listed) drifting from doorways, and the Castelo de São Jorge above
- Mouraria: The historic Moorish district, now a multicultural neighbourhood with some of Lisbon's best street food and a strong fado heritage
- Belém: Where Vasco da Gama sailed for India in 1498 — the Jerónimos Monastery (Late Gothic Manueline style, UNESCO-listed, extraordinary) and the Tower of Belém, plus the original Pastéis de Belém bakery, where the recipe for the original Portuguese custard tart (pastel de nata) has been made since 1837
- Príncipe Real: The elegant 19th-century neighbourhood of antique shops, independent restaurants, and the city's best fresh produce market
The tram 28 route (the historic yellow electric tram) connects many of Lisbon's hills and is simultaneously a tourist attraction and a genuine transport link — though the crowds in summer make it challenging to board.
Porto: The Working City
Porto — Portugal's second city and the origin of the country's name (Portus Cale) — has a different character from Lisbon: more industrial, more northern, more rain, more granite, and widely considered by those who know both cities to be the more authentic and characterful of the two. The Ribeira (riverside quarter, UNESCO-listed) is the immediate visual impression: tall, crumbling, beautifully tile-fronted (azulejos) houses rising above the Douro, crossed by the iron Dom Luís I Bridge (1886, designed by a student of Gustave Eiffel) to the port wine lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia on the south bank.
The port wine lodges of Gaia — Taylor's, Graham's, Sandeman, Ramos Pinto, and dozens of others — offer tours and tastings that are among Portugal's best value experiences. A tasting of Tawny ports of different ages (10, 20, 30, and 40 year) at the lodge where they were aged, with views of the river, is one of the most pleasurable food-and-drink experiences in Europe.
Porto's best bookshop: Livraria Lello (1906) is one of the world's most beautiful bookshops — a wood-panelled, stained-glass Neo-Gothic interior that inspired J.K. Rowling's description of the Hogwarts library (she taught English in Porto in the early 1990s). Now requires a ticket to enter; queue early.
The Douro Valley: One of the World's Great Wine Landscapes
The Douro Valley — beginning at Régua, 100km east of Porto — is one of Europe's most spectacular wine regions, and the oldest demarcated wine region in the world (designated in 1756). The schist terraces cut into the valley walls, descending in stepped curves from ridge to river, planted with indigenous Portuguese grape varieties (Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinto Cão) that produce both the world-famous port wines and, increasingly, some of Portugal's finest dry reds and whites.
The two best ways to experience the Douro:
- By train: The Douro Railway from Porto (Campanhã station) to Pocinho runs along the valley for 175km — one of Europe's great scenic train journeys, especially from Régua east, where the train runs along the river's edge through the terraced vineyards
- By river cruise: Day trips and multi-day cruises from Porto through the valley's locks and gorges, with quinta (wine estate) visits and lunch included
The Quinta do Crasto, Quinta do Vale Meão, and Quinta do Vallado are among the quintas open to visitors for tastings; several have accommodation in beautifully converted historic estate buildings.
Portuguese Food: A Quietly Great Cuisine
- Bacalhau (salt cod): The national obsession — said to have over 365 recipes, one for each day of the year. Bacalhau à Brás (with scrambled egg and matchstick potatoes) and bacalhau com natas (with cream, in the oven) are the most accessible introductions.
- Pastel de nata: The egg custard tart — caramelised on top, flaky pastry beneath — best eaten warm, straight from the oven, with a dusting of cinnamon and powdered sugar
- Francesinha: Porto's legendary contribution to sandwich culture — layers of meat (ham, linguiça sausage, steak) in bread, covered with melted cheese and a rich beer-and-tomato sauce, with a fried egg on top. Not for the faint-hearted.
- Grilled fish: Sardinhas assadas (charcoal-grilled sardines, served with cornbread) in summer, or robalo (sea bass) or dourada (sea bream) year-round
Practical Information
- Getting there: Direct flights to Lisbon and Porto from most European cities; Lisbon has good transatlantic connections
- Getting around: Trains connect Lisbon and Porto (3 hours, frequent) and the Douro Valley; car hire useful for the valley and Alentejo
- Best time: Spring (April–June) and autumn (September–October) — warm, manageable crowds. Summer is very hot in the interior.
- Value: Portugal remains among Western Europe's best value destinations for food, wine, and accommodation
Related: The Azores: Europe's Most Surprising Islands | Spain's Hidden Wine Regions