Top Reasons to Go to Portugal

World Treasures. Located a stone's throw from each other, Lisbon's Mosteiro dos Jerónimos and Torre de Belém, both UNESCO World Heritage sites, are monuments reflecting Portugal's proud seafaring past.

City Sophistication. Lisbon's Museu Colecção Berardo and Porto's Casa da Musica are just two of the ultra-modern institutions that make both cities major cultural centers.

Victorian Style. Explore Lisbon on ancient street trams that wind around narrow cobbled streets where washing hangs from the windows of pastel-colored houses and sardines sizzle on barbecue grills. Trams of a similar vintage ply routes in both Sintra and Porto, too.

Old-Fashioned Hospitality. Even in a modern city such as Lisbon, or the bustling northern business capital of Porto, shopkeepers and café owners tend to move at a slower pace than their counterparts elsewhere in Europe. But even when there's a language barrier, old-fashioned courteousness also tends to prevail.

Buzzing Nightlife. Lisbon and Porto have earned reputations in recent years as great places to hit the town, with bars and dance clubs often located in stunning riverside settings such as adapted former warehouses.