571 Best Sights in Portugal

This festival, which started in 1993, is staged in Vila do Conde every July.

What started as a small distillery in Santiago do Cacém has become a giant theme park for the whole family. Owner Miguel Nunes considers himself an alchemist, collecting botanicals from the Alentejo coast and transforming it into an award-winning gin. Book ahead to visit the production area or head straight to the on-site bar for a cocktail. The space also offers safari trips on giant gin bottles, an animal farm, a playground, and several walking trails. The distillery is located a 40-minute drive south of Alcácer do Sal.

Lourinhã, a small town about halfway between Torres Vedras and Peniche, claims the title "Land of the Dinosaurs" because of the rich paleontological finds made in the area's sea cliffs. Since 2018, Lourinhã has been home to the Dino Park, Portugal's largest outdoor museum and a fun attraction for families with kids. Along with 180 life-size models of different species—including several discovered locally and named after the town—there are impressive fossil displays and labs where you can take a closer look at tools and techniques used by paleontologists. Buy tickets online for a discount.

The small dock—flanked by Faro's main square, the Praça Dom Francisco Gomes, and the Manuel Bivar Garden—is filled with small pleasure craft rather than working fishing boats. Come at dusk to enjoy a drink as the sun sets dramatically over the lagoon.

In the shadow of the huge Ponte 25 de Abril, the old wharves have been made over so that you can stroll along the riverfront all the way to Belém (taking about 30 minutes each way). At Docas de Santo Amaro, known to locals simply as Docas, waterfront restaurants and bars now inhabit the shells of former warehouses. On the terrace in front of the marina, the party goes on until late into the night.

The town's modern, interactive eco-museum describes the surrounding geology and countryside.

Traditional salt production methods are on display at this small open-air museum on the edge of town. You can walk around the salt flats, watch workers extracting salt, and learn about the tools and techniques used in the process.

The Santa Justa Elevator is one of Lisbon's more extraordinary structures. Designed by Raoul Mesnier du Ponsard, who studied under French engineer Gustave Eiffel, the Gothic-style tower was built in 1902. Queues are often frustratingly long in high season, but it's an enjoyable ride up to the top. The return ticket sold on board includes access to a high walkway and an even higher miradouro (though this viewing platform is currently closed), but it's a poor value—a 24-hour public transportation pass costs around €7 loaded onto a €0.50 Viagem card and is valid on the elevator as well as all of the city's buses, trams, and metro lines. To skip the queues and the fare, you can access the upper walkway from Largo do Carmo.

Almada's eye-catching Mouth of the Wind elevator is a fun, free, and photogenic way to travel between Almada's Old Town and the pretty gardens and noteworthy restaurants on the riverfront of Cais do Ginjal. Enjoy the views from the glass-fronted cabin as you ascend or descend. 

One of the region's best small winemakers, Encosta da Quinta is known above all for a prize-winning organic red that goes by the earthy name of Humus. To arrange a visit to the estate outside of town (parts of which date back to the 16th century), ending with a tasting with five organic wines—a combination of whites, rosés, or reds, according to visitors' preference—and regional cheeses, all for €30, email  [email protected] well in advance.

Dating back to the 19th century, this working sugar cane factory is at its liveliest in April and May, right after the harvest that leaves a honey-like scent hanging in the air. You can take a self-guided tour to see how the local rums and liqueurs are made, then sample a few in the tasting room for a small fee.

A visit to the working sugar cane mill is a reminder that the industry once played a pivotal role in the region. The mill operates during April and May, immediately after the sugar cane harvest, but a visit any time of year will let you see the various stages of the steam-driven production. After walking around the mill, you can finish up in the Rum House to sample some of the beverages made with the crop.

The English Cemetery is where Lisbon’s once-sizeable English community was laid to rest over the years. Thanks to the Anglo-Portuguese alliance in the 14th century, the kingdoms of Portugal and England maintained close relationships, especially in trade. This led to the port wine industry in the city of Porto, which was mostly in British hands, and to a considerable number of British merchants settling in Lisbon. The cemetery, found behind a gate across from Jardim da Estrela, is filled with tombstones mixing English and Portuguese surnames, showing how British and Portuguese families intermarried over the centuries, but it’s the tomb of novelist Henry Fielding (author of Tom Jones) that most visitors look for. Fielding moved to Lisbon hoping that better weather would improve his health, but ended up dying in the city. A plaque also reveals that Thomas Barclay, appointed by George Washington as the first American consul in France, died in Lisbon in 1793 and is buried here.

A curious structure built in the late 15th century, this was the first important building in the Alentejo to join Gothic and Moorish elements and form the Gothic-Mudéjar style. The fortified church, a few hundred feet south of the city walls, is characterized by massive battlement-topped walls and a series of round towers crowned with steep spires.

At Aveiro's northeast edge, the city's train station is an attraction in itself: the exterior of the whitewashed building displays a huge collection of 1916 azulejo panels depicting regional traditions and customs.

Opened in 2022, the exhibition center at Sagres Fortress offers an immersive look at Portugal’s Age of Discoveries. Replacing an older space, it uses multimedia, sound, and light to explore Prince Henry the Navigator’s legacy and the strategic role of the fort it's housed in. Contemporary art exhibitions complement the historical focus.

Held every Thursday in the central Campo da República, the Barcelos Market is one of the country's largest. Starting at sunup, vendors cry out their wares, which include almost anything you can think of: traditional ceramics (brown pottery with yellow-and-white decorations are a favorite), glazed figurines (including the famous Barcelos rooster), copper lanterns, and wooden toys. There are also mounds of vegetables, fruits, cheese, bread—even live poultry. In fall and winter, the scent of roasting chestnuts wafts across the square.

About 19 km (12 miles) southwest of Constância is the town of Golegã, one of Portugal's most notable horse-breeding centers. During the first two weeks of November, this is the site of the colorful Feira Nacional do Cavalo, the most important event of its kind in the country, staged for the past 250 years. It has riding displays, horse and trap competitions, and stalls that sell handicrafts.

Like a real-life Willy Wonka chocolate factory but even bigger, the outdoor feast that is the annual Festival de Chocolate attracts more than 200,000 people to Óbidos in March and April. There are tons of things to do and see, like an annual chocolate sculpture contest done by locally renowned chefs. Along with the many stands selling all kinds of delicious chocolate goodies, many local restaurants offer chocolate-theme menus.

A short drive west of Monchique brings you to the highest point in the Algarve. The towering Pico de Fóia affords panoramic views—weather permitting—over the western Algarve. There's also a café here.

Near the village of Camacha, this spring once had the purest water on the island, which is why it was used for medical treatments. The water does not spring forth with such abundance today, but is still considered sacred by locals. To reach the spring, drive west out of the village along the coastal road.

This monumental fountain was built from 1938 to 1948, when World War II raged across Europe but Portugal remained a neutral war-free country. It’s called “Luminous Fountain” because of a light show that takes place daily after the sun sets, until 9 pm. The water falls from an upper platform to a large basin, but also only at set times—during the light show in the evening, and at lunchtime, between noon and 3. In the water are four sculptures of mermaids and another showing Triton on horseback. On either side of the monument are stairs that take you to a terrace at the top, with views over the Avenidas Novas.

The eastern end of Praia da Rocha culminates in the 16th-century Fortress of Santa Catarina, which provides wonderful views out to sea and across the Rio Arade to Ferragudo. Originally part of a coastal defense system, its purpose was to protect the estuary from pirates and invaders. Until now it's sometimes used for military and religious displays.

It's a steep walk to get to the fortress, but it's worth the effort for the dazzling views of Funchal. The Fort of the Peak was built in 1611 to protect the settlement against pirate attacks. Today, you can view parts of the ramparts, as well as visit a small museum that has prints of the building over the years on display. A coffee shop with great views over the city offers a chance to refuel before heading back down the hill.

The robust yellow fort dates to 1614, if not earlier, when French corsairs began to threaten Funchal's coveted deepwater harbor. Thanks to continuous use—by British troops when their nation was allied with Portugal against Napoléon, and during the visit of Portuguese King Dom Carlos in 1901—much of the military stronghold has been preserved, though it's now a bit decrepit. You can wander around the ramparts, which offer interesting views over the old town and sea below.

This 17th-century fort defended the entrance to the harbor in bygone days. From inside you can look out at sweeping ocean views. For an interesting perspective on the rock formations and grottoes of the area's shoreline, take one of the short boat trips offered by the fishermen near the Ponta da Bandeira.

The triangular 17th-century Forte de Santa Catarina in Figueira da Foz was occupied by French troops during the early stages of the Peninsular War. Although the interior isn’t open to the public, the bar-restaurant at the top offers sweeping views of the coast—a scenic spot to enjoy a drink as the sun sets over the water.

This impressive military fortress on a hill about 1½ km (1 mile) outside Elvas's city walls houses an interesting military museum with an array of artillery and weapons. The fort's rectangular ramparts were first built in the 1640s during Portugal's centuries-long animosity with Spain, and the local governor's residence was at its center.

The castle-like ramparts of this 16th-century fortification are what added the words do Castelo to the town's name, as well as protecting it against attack from pirates eager to share in its wealth. It was completed during the reign of Dom Manuel I, which is why architectural details such as the Roqueta Tower are Manueline in style. These days the massive structure is used for more peaceful purposes, hosting a hospitality school and a branch of the regional tourist board. A large market is held outside the castle walls every Friday.

On the seafront, only a single tower remains of the 17th-century Forte de São Bento, built to protect the Ribeira Brava's citizens from pirates. It now houses the local tourist office.