BEST PLACES TO VISIT IN PORTUGAL
Lisbon
Lisbon, the Atlantic capital city, is romantic, fun and laid back and is a city of many neighbourhoods, each having
something to offer the tourist. It is a beautiful city and once visited, very difficult to leave. It dips and rises over seven hills, so though a great town for walking, it is recommended that you take the electrified streetcars where possible. It rests on the Rio Tejo and is overlooked on the opposite
bank by the Cristo Rei statue. Its quarters are linked by an amazing network of cobbled streets and yellow trams and funiculars crank up and over its hills and offering amazing views blessed with a natural beauty and steeped in a fascinating history.
If you take the train along the North bank of the Tagus estuary you will discover mile 
after mile of fantastic golden sandy beaches, ending with the beaches of Estoril and Cascais and a number of historical royal castles. Cascais is both a suburb of Lisbon and a delightful beach resort and Estoril with its mild climate has a lively and sophisticated atmosphere and is famed as the seat of kings
Be sure whilst in Lisbon, to visit Castelo de São Jorge, Biaxa, Alfama and the banks of the River Tagus.
Just some of the many highlights of Lisbon…
Bairro Alto – Don’t miss out on a night out in Lisbon’s “Upper Town”, packed with vibrant bars and restaurants and clubs.
Alfama– Explore the city’s oldest quarter and unlike anywhere else in the city it has a tangled web of partly medieval and partly Arabic steeply slanted streets leading up to outstanding views from three of Lisbon’s seven hills.
Museu Nacional do Azulejo – This splendid museum traces the history and development of tile making from Moorish days to the present.
Museu Gulbenkian – Visit their inspiring collections of priceless art and antiquities and relax and unwind at the basement café bar and tranquil gardens.
Mosteiro dos Jerónimus – This magnificent Manueline monastery houses the tomb of Vasco de Gama, its local hero and 16th Century discoverer.
Antiga Confeitaria de Belém – Enjoy a tasty custard tart in this most traditional pastry-shop café.
Lux – Dance the night away at one of Europe’s most fashionable places and clubs to be seen, attracting the likes of celebrities such as Prince and Cameron Diaz.
Estádio da Luz – The country’s finest sports arena and home to its most famous football club, Benfica.
Palácio Nacional, Sintra – A splendid royal retreat in the Summer residence of kings.
Castelo de Palmela – stay for a night at this converted castle in Palmela now a luxurious pousada. It is a fabulous place to stay and incorporates cloisters and boasts panoramic views.
Oceanário – Children and adults will adore the superb Oceanário. This amazing and magical seven-million-litre aquarium contains five million litres and has over 450 different species from the World’s different seas.
Porto
As with Lisbon, it’s hard not to like Porto. Although a large city, it is a very laid back destination. With a beauty all of its own, it is Portugal’s second biggest city, and is built on granite cliffs above the Rio Douro and is the capital of Portugal’s beguiling North. Known mainly for its trade and being the home of Port wine, it is an interesting old town with its winding streets and is also a World Heritage site. It has an atmospheric riverside and is dotted with old port-wine boats, lanes and archways. The prosperous business centre is surrounded by well-to-do suburbs and for its long history has been known as a cosmopolitan trading centre. You will find a fine array of architectural treasures from Roman, Gothic, Baroque, Neoclassic and Renaissance eras.
With the blossoming of almond, apples, pears, cherries, oranges and figs, it is particularly striking in February and the Summer is very pleasant with the maritime winds moderating the climate.
Highlights not to be missed in Porto…
Festa de São João
– The city’s wildest annual festival, St John’s Eve (June 23-24) sees some riotous behaviour when what seems like the entire population taking to the streets and hitting each other over the head with leeks, squeaky plastic hammers or anything else that comes to hand!
Douro River Cruise – Let the countryside drift by and experience a glorious cruise along the country’s historic “River of Gold”.
Porto's Riverfront – The cramped alleyways, streets, smoky bars and seafood restaurants are an ideal introduction to this fascinating city.
Ponte de D. Luis - This is the city’s emblematic iron bridge which was built by a disciple of the famous Eiffel.
Igreja de Sao Francisco – A Gothic church with a plain façade but a ton of gold leaf gilding within. There is also a museum and catacombs below.
Museu de Arte Contemporãnea de Serralves – Housed within a building by Portugal’s leading architect, Álvaro Siza Vieira; this collection will delight all contemporary art fans.
Port Lodge Visit – Sample some of the many hundreds of varieties of Port wine at Vila Nova de Gaia.
Citãnia de Sanfins de Ferreira – This is the best preserved of the region’s Celtic hilltop settlements and gives you a very vivid insight into daily life before the Romans. It dates back to the Second Century B.C. and is a splendidly atmospheric place perched upon a hill.
Rock Art at Foz Côa – Here you will see some of the World’s oldest works of art dating back to over 20,000 years and includes engravings of horses, deer, goats and other animals (some of which are extinct) and some Neolithic images of people.
Castelo Rodrigo – A wonderfully atmospheric hilltop village with stunning vistas and restaurants. It is a perfect place to spend an afternoon and the views are superb.
Sintra
As the summer residence of the Kings of Portugal and the Moorish Lords of Lisbon, Sintra’s charms have long been celebrated. A wonderfully hilly and mountainous Never-Never land and its exceptional microclimate encourages lots of exotic vegetation, flowering and climbing around the palaces crowned by gargoyles. There is also a cork-lined monastery deep in its woods.
The Palácio Nacional is now a museum and its highlights include the Manueline Sala dos Cisnes, named for the 27 gold collared swans painted on its ceiling and the Sala das Pegas, named for the flock of magpies painted on the frieze and ceiling. There are also a succession of State rooms which climaxes with the Sala das Brasões, with its domed ceiling emblazoned with the coat of arms of 74 noble families.
The shops offer many delights, especially art and decorative tiles. Many travellers to Portugal consider Sintra to be the highlight of their visit. Sintra is also a very popular pre-cruise or post-cruise tour stop and you would probably enjoy your visit more if you avoid the late morning and lunchtime “cruise” crowds.
Evora
Portugal’s best–preserved medieval city and is one of the most impressive and enjoyable cities in Portugal full of .jpg)
many memorable monuments. Evora is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. Originally a Roman settlement, the city was conquered by the Christians in the 12th Century and the city has many interesting attractions, including its cathedral, which is the largest in Portugal and the city’s ruins. Inevitably the sights here attract a huge number of Summer tourists, but despite this, the city is far from spoiled and is still relatively a small place. The streets contained within its walls are a pleasant place to stroll around and has none of the usual hustle and bustle of other larger tourist centres.
Besides being beautiful and very historical, it is a place very full of life and is a centre of Alentejan cuisine. It is also a university town, whose students nicely dilute with the many tourist visitors
and it adds an independent side to city life.
With its strong agricultural roots, there is a huge open air market held on the second Tuesday of the month in the Rossio, just South of the city walls. However, the biggest annual event held here is the Feira de São João, which is a folklore, handicraft, gastronomic and musical festival and the origins date from pre-Christian times and it takes over the city during the last ten days of June.
Braga
Portugal's best-preserved medieval city and is one of the most impressive and enjoyable cities in Portugal full of many memorable monuments. Evora is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. Originally a Roman settlement, the city was conquered by the Christians in the 12th Century and the city has many interesting attractions, including its cathedral, which is the largest in Portugal and the city's ruins. Inevitably, the sights here attract a huge number of Summer tourists, but despite this, the city is far from spoiled and is still a relatively small place. The streets contained within its walls are a pleasant place to stroll around and has none of the usual hustle and bustle of other larger tourist centres.
Besides being beautiful and very historical, it is a place very full of life and is a centre of Alentejan cuisine. It is also a university town, whose students nicely dilute with the many tourist visitors and it adds an independent side to city life.
With its stong agricultural roots, there is a huge open air market held on the second Tuesday of the month in Rossio, just south of the city walls. However, the biggest annual event held here is the Feira de São João, which is a folklore, handicraft, gastronomic and musical festival and the origins date from pre-Christian times and it takes over the city during the last ten days of June.
Viana do Castelo
Viana do Castelo is Minho’s main resort town and is renowned for its multitude of festivals and is the 
folkloric capital of the Minho. It is a highly appealing place, set by the Rio Lima estuary and just a hop away from some of the best beaches in the North. It is the Northern coast’s largest and most liveliest resort and is an elegant town with Manueline and Renaissance houses and rococo palaces. The town is beautifully positioned along the north bank of the Lima estuary and shaped by the thick wooded hill of Monte de Santa Luzia and is strewn with Celtic remains and has an imposing basilica. All this in itself makes it worth a visit, but the town also provides itself as a handy base for exploring the lower Lima valley. Viana also hosts one of the most exciting festivals in Minho at the end of August and its weekly Friday market is also another mass of Minho produce and artefacts.
Coimbra
Once a Celtic settlement, Coimbra was the birthplace of many of Portugal’s Kings and was once the capital of the country. Situated on a hill above the Rio Mondego, it is a wonderfully moody place full of ancient alleys and lanes and is the site of the country’s oldest university. It cannot be beaten as a base for exploring this region. Its treasures date back 850 years and you do not have to wander far to feel yourself slipping back in time.
Coimbra’s great appeal lies in the fact that it is an ancient centre still teeming with life. The cafes bristle with groups of students solving the World’s problems and the haunting sounds of fado music echo late into the night.
Coimbra has a charm all of its own and there are some stunning destinations nearby, which includes Portugal’s most extensive Roman site, Conímbriga, which is 16km to the southwest, the castle at Montemor-o-Velho, 32km west, and the delightful spa town of Luso and ancient forest of Buçaco under an hour’s journey to the north.
Here are some of Coimbra’s highlights…
Velha Universidade – Wind yourself up to the spendidly sited university, with its striking Baroque library.
Coimbra Fado – Best listened to in a smoky bar with a drink in hand, or with an atmospheric backdrop of an old town alleyway. You are most likely to catch fado during the student celebrations in May. From July to September there are also outdoor fado performances in the old town which are advertised locally or you can find out more information from the tourist office.
Roman ruins at Conimbriga – The ancient city of Conimbriga is by far the most important Roman site in Portugal. It was preceded by a substantial Celto-Iberian settlement, dating back to the Iron Age, but the excavated buildings nearly all belong to the latter days of the Roman Empire from the 2nd to the 4th Century AD.
Luso & Mata Nacional do Buçaco – The 105-hectare Buçaco (or Bussaco) National Forest on the slopes of the Serra do Buçaco 24km northeast of Coimbra is no ordinary forest. Buçaco. For centuries it has been a religious haven of peace and tranquillity and is shut away from the outside world by a high stone wall. It has a mystical appeal and some astounding botanical attractions such as 700 different tree species. In the middle of this lies an extravagant palace – a royal retreat. For many decades the Portuguese tourists have also been coming to the little spa town of Luso, which lies just to the west to soak in its waters. Both the forest and the spa are an easy day trip away from Coimbra.
Fatima
Fatima is an extraordinary place and is one of the most important places of pilgrimage in the Catholic world. It is .jpg)
one of
the most visited locations in Portugal and its attractiveness for most tourists, is based on the religious belief in the Apparitions and the Miracle at Fatima. Not much attention was paid to this unremarkable place, until 13 May 1917 when three shepherd children from Fatima claimed to have seen an apparition of the Virgin ‘more brilliant than the sun’. Only 10-year old Lúcia could hear what she said, including her request that they return on the 13th of each month for the next six months. Word spread like wildfire and by 13 October some 70,000 devotees had gathered. What happened next has been described as the Miracle of the Sun, when the sun whirled like a swirling ball of fire, followed by the miraculous cure of the disabilities and illnesses suffered by some spectators.
The vast white Basilica was completed in 1953 and was built built to commemorate these extraordinary events. The shrine itself has a remarkable atmosphere and a constant stream of the devout and faithful paying tribute. This is most dramatic at Fatima’s key times, which is 12-13 May and 12-13 October when millions of pilgrims arrive to commemorate the first apparitions. The courtyard outside the basilica swells to twice the size of St. Peter’s and a new church is being built with room for 9,000 worshippers and should be completed in 2007.
The town itself is also a shrine to a lot of gaudy religious kitsch souvenirs and is packed with boarding houses and restaurants for the pilgrim masses as well as glow-in-the-dark Virgins, Fatima T-shirts, key-rings and much more.
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