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Home › Destinations › Southern Europe › Portugal
Southern Europe
Things to do in Portugal
Tiled facades, port wine cellars, and some of the biggest waves the Atlantic can throw.
Explore Portugal on the map →Budget$$
Best for7-10 days
CapitalLisbon
VisaVisa-free 90 days (Schengen) for US/UK/EU
CurrencyEuro (€)
LanguagesPortuguese
InternetExcellent
Typical lodging$30–$85/night
Driving sideRight
Power & voltage230V / 50Hz (Type C/F plug)
Time zoneUTC+1
Emergency number112
Dialing code+351
★★★★★ Culture★★★★★ Food★★★★★ Beaches
Visa rules and emergency numbers can change without notice. Confirm the specifics for your nationality and dates before you travel.
Travel smart
Tap water is safe to drink. 5–10% is appreciated, not required.
Portugal faces the Atlantic rather than the Mediterranean, which changes everything: the water is colder, the waves are bigger, the light is sharper, and the food leans on salt cod and grilled sardines rather than olive oil and tomato.
When to go
SpringApril–May
Wildflowers in the Alentejo, comfortable cities, cold ocean. Prices and crowds well below summer.
SummerJune–August
Lisbon averages around 28°C and Porto 26°C, the Atlantic keeps it milder than inland Spain. Many local restaurants close for holidays in August.
Early autumnSeptember–October
The warmest sea of the year, grape harvest in the Douro, and 25–35% off August prices.
WinterNovember–March
Mild and rainy in the north, gentler in the Algarve. Nazaré's giant waves arrive, and Madeira stays green and walkable.
21 things to do
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Wildlife & nature
1▾
Culture & history
3Listen to fado in a small room
Sung mourning, roughly: one voice and a Portuguese guitar, in Alfama or Mouraria, usually late and usually with dinner.
Walk the palaces of Sintra€14
Pena's painted turrets, Quinta da Regaleira's initiation well spiralling underground, all in mist half the year. Forty minutes from Lisbon by train.
See the bone chapel in Évora
Walls lined with the bones of some 5,000 monks, built as a meditation on mortality, with an inscription at the door to match.
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Food & markets
4Taste port in Vila Nova de Gaia
Cross the river from Porto to the lodges where port ages. Tawny and ruby taste nothing alike, and the tour explains why.
Eat grilled sardines in summer
Charcoal, salt, bread underneath to catch the oil. June brings street festivals in Lisbon built around exactly this.
Work out what to do with bacalhau
Salt cod, said to have a recipe for every day of the year. Brás and à Gomes de Sá are the ones worth starting with.
Queue for a pastel de nata
Custard tart, burnt on top, best warm with cinnamon. Belém's original bakery has been making them since 1837.
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Adventure & outdoors
3Learn to surf on the Atlantic coast
Peniche, Ericeira and Costa da Caparica have beginner beaches and schools by the dozen, with consistent year-round swell.
Walk the cliffs of the Rota Vicentina
A coastal path down the southwest, along cliffs and empty beaches where storks nest on sea stacks.
Walk in Madeira's levada channels
Irrigation channels cut across the island's cliffs centuries ago, with footpaths beside them running through laurel forest.
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Coast & water
3Watch the giant waves at Nazaré
An underwater canyon focuses swell into waves that have topped 20 metres. Watched from the lighthouse headland when the forecast lines up.
Kayak the sea caves of the Algarve
Golden limestone arches and hidden beaches around Benagil, reachable only from the water.
Stand at Cabo da Roca
The westernmost point of mainland Europe: a cliff, a lighthouse, and a lot of wind.
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Cities & design
3Ride tram 28 through Lisbon's hills
A wooden streetcar grinding up through Alfama and Graça. Board at the start of the line if you want a seat rather than a wrestle.
See azulejo tilework up close
Blue-and-white tiles cover churches, stations and whole facades. Porto's São Bento station and Lisbon's tile museum are the concentrated versions.
Wander Porto's Ribeira after dark
The riverfront under the Dom Luís bridge, lit and busy, with port lodges glowing on the far bank.
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Slow days
4Take the train up the Douro Valley
The line hugs the river past terraced vineyards cut into slate hillsides, one of Europe's best rail rides, and cheap.
Drive through the cork oaks of the Alentejo
Rolling plains, stripped cork trunks, whitewashed villages and almost no traffic. Portugal produces about half the world's cork.
Stay inside a monastery or castle
The pousada network puts hotels in historic buildings: Óbidos inside the castle walls, Évora in a convent.
Sit at a miradouro at golden hour
Lisbon's viewpoints are institutions, usually with a kiosk selling beer and someone playing guitar badly.
Common questions
▾Is Portugal safe to visit?
Yes. Portugal is consistently ranked among the safer countries in Europe for tourists, with low rates of violent crime. Standard precautions around petty theft in busy areas of Lisbon and Porto apply, as they would anywhere.
▾How much does it cost to visit Pena Palace in Sintra?
A standard adult ticket runs about €14 for the palace and park. Sintra gets extremely busy on weekends and in summer, so arriving early or booking a timed slot in advance saves a meaningful amount of queuing.
▾How many days do you need in Portugal?
7-10 days covers Lisbon, a day trip to Sintra, and either Porto in the north or the Algarve coast in the south. A tighter long weekend works if you're focused on Lisbon alone.
▾Do I need a visa for Portugal?
US, UK, Canadian and most other Western passport holders can visit visa-free for up to 90 days within the Schengen Area. Longer stays or nationalities outside the visa-waiver list need a Schengen visa arranged in advance.
▾What's the best time to visit Portugal?
March through May and September through October offer comfortable, less crowded conditions. June through August is hot, especially inland, and the most popular time to visit the Algarve coast.
▾Is Portugal expensive?
Portugal is one of the more affordable countries in Western Europe: food, wine and accommodation cost meaningfully less than in neighboring Spain or France for a comparable standard, which is a big part of its recent popularity.
