571 Best Sights in Portugal

This self-proclaimed “island within Madeira island” between Câmara de Lobos and Ribeira Brava is only accessible by a steep, though short, cable car ride. Plan to spend a few hours touring the fascinating organic farm, where you’ll see mangos, bananas, Surinam cherries, and other tropical fruits and vegetables, along with vineyards; guided tours are offered every day except Tuesday and Saturday at 10:30 am; reserve in advance by email or phone. Stay to explore the rocky, though scenic, beach and have lunch at the charming restaurant, which serves authentic and inexpensive local food. If you’re inspired to spend the night, nine ancient houses have been converted into simple but comfortable places to sleep. 

The views from outside this lighthouse are remarkable, and the beacon is said to have the strongest reflectors in Europe—they cast a beam 96 km (60 miles) out to sea. Turquoise water whips across the base of the rust-color cliffs below; the fortress at Sagres is visible to the east; and in the distance lies the immense Atlantic. Though the lighthouse itself is closed to visitors, small food trucks around the entrance give reason to linger.

The views from the Sagres Fortress, an enormous run of defensive walls high above the crashing waves, are spectacular. Its massive walls and battlements make it popular with kids. The importance of this area dates to as early as the 4th century BC, when Mediterranean seafarers found it to be the last sheltered port before the wild winds of the Atlantic. In the late 8th century, according to local religious tradition, the mortal remains of the 4th-century martyr of Zaragoza, St. Vincent, washed up here. This led to a Vincentine cult that attracted pilgrims until the destruction of the sanctuary in the mid-12th century. The fortress was rebuilt in the 17th century, and although some historians have claimed that it was the site for Prince Henry's famous navigation school, it's more likely that Henry built his school at Cabo São Vicente. But this doesn't detract from the powerful atmosphere. Certainly the Venta da Rosa ("Rose of the Winds," a sundial-like stone whose purpose is still unknown) dates to Prince Henry's period. The small chapel of Nossa Senhora da Graça is of the same age.

This amazing bookshop is one of the oldest and largest in Portugal. As you walk through the twisting corridors over three different floors, you'll find it hard to find any empty spots on the shelves or walls. There are over 100,000 different titles lining every inch of this shop from top to bottom, pinned neatly to every available space. The books are almost all written in Portuguese, so unless you're a native speaker, this shop is more a place to marvel at the literary beauty than buy anything, but it's well worth visiting to get lost among a world of fiction.

Housed in a former warehouse not far from the Museu Nacional do Azulejo in Marvila, a once run down part of the city that's emerged as a creative hub, this vast space is named for one of Europe’s leading female art dealers, Filomena Soares. The gallery represents leading Portuguese and international artists like Sara Bichão and the late Dan Graham. An immersive rooftop installation by Graham of two-way mirror glass and steel remains in place, but isn’t regularly open to the public.

This gallery-cum-performing arts venue remains one of the hippest addresses in the city, three decades after it was founded as a cultural nonprofit. Both the bookshop and exhibition space, which hosts stimulating contemporary art shows and cutting-edge talks, often in English, are open 6–10 pm. After that, there are usually concerts of experimental music in a rather claustrophobic performance space. On warm nights, head up to the ultra-laid-back rooftop bar, which occasionally serves as an open-air cinema.

This famed wine estate produces Esporão, one of Portugal's top labels. It's on a beautiful, sprawling property overlooking a lake that you won't believe is tucked away in the outskirts of this small town. The winery's driveway cuts across miles of vineyards, up to the main house with an arched portico showcasing the vast property. The winery offers two-hour tours of its facilities several times daily, and they all end with a tasting. You can also sample wines at the bar (you pay according to the number and type of wines tasted). Pair wines with sophisticated Portuguese cuisine in the elegant lunchtime restaurant, where chef Carlos Teixeira prepares dishes with wine, olive oil, and vinegar from the estate.

This church, completed in 1574, was one of the earliest Jesuit buildings in the world; the attached museum is home to one of Portugal's most comprehensive collections of religious art. While the church's exterior is somewhat plain and austere, the inside is dazzling, with abundant use of gold and marble—the only remaining example in Lisbon of the painted ceilings from the mannerist period. Eight side chapels have statuary and art dating from the early 17th century. The last chapel on the left before the altar is the extraordinary 18th-century Capela de São João Baptista (Chapel of St. John the Baptist), designed and built in Rome, then taken apart, shipped to Lisbon, and reassembled here in 1747.

Widely considered one of the most remarkable examples of the Renaissance movement in the Algarve, this structure has a portal that dates to 1541. The church also hosts regular fado concerts—an unusual occurrence, but one that lifts the soul.

This is Portugal's National Pantheon, the final resting place of the country's first two kings, Dom Afonso Henriques and his son Dom Sancho I. The lower portions of the interior walls are lined with azulejos depicting various religious motifs. Look a little closer and you'll notice flaws in the design---that's because the tiles were installed in the 18th century, as a quick fix after flooding damaged the 12th-century frescos that were there originally. The 16th-century baroque organ is a sight to behold. From the sacristy, a door opens to the Casa do Capitulo (Silent Cloister); this double-tier Manueline cloister contains scenes from the Passion of Christ, attributed to Chanterene.

This early-18th-century baroque building is Lagos' most extraordinary structure. Its interior is a riot of gilt extravagance made possible by the import of gold from Brazil. Dozens of cherubs and angels clamber over the walls, among fancifully carved woodwork and azulejos. In an annex is the Museu Municipal Dr. José Formosinho, with a range of 18th-century artworks and archaeological findings.

With the most striking exterior of any church in Porto, Igreja de Santo Ildefonso has a facade covered with some 11,000 blue-and-white azulejo tiles depicting scenes from the Gospels and the life of Saint Ildefonso. The church was completed in the 18th century on the site of a previous chapel from the Middle Ages. Inside, a sacred art museum showcases interesting religious artifacts, books, and paintings, and you can see a gilded raised altarpiece by the 18th-century Italian artist Nicolau Nasoni.

During the last days of Porto's siege by the absolutist army (the miguelistas) in July 1842, there was gunfire by the nearby Convent of St. Francis. These shootings caused a fire that destroyed most parts of the convent, sparing only this church. Today the church is the most prominent Gothic monument in Porto. It's a rather undistinguished, late-14th-century building on the outside, but inside is an astounding interior: gilded carving—added in the mid-18th century—runs up the pillars, over the altar, and across the ceiling. An adjacent museum houses furnishings from the Franciscan convent. Guided tours include visits to the church, museum, and catacombs.

After the Sé, this is the most impressive of Évora's churches. Its construction in the early 16th century, on the site of a former Gothic chapel, involved the greatest talents of the day, including Nicolas Chanterene, Oliver of Ghent, and the Arruda brothers, Francisco and Diogo. Magnificent architecture notwithstanding, the bizarre Capela dos Ossos (Chapel of Bones) is the main attraction. The translation of the chilling inscription over the entrance reads, "We, the bones that are here, await yours." The bones of some 5,000 skeletons dug up from cemeteries in the area line the ceilings and supporting columns. With a flair worthy of Charles Addams, a 16th-century Franciscan monk placed skulls jaw-to-cranium so they form arches across the ceiling; arm and leg bones are neatly stacked to shape the supporting columns.

This small church next to the former Convento dos Lóios, which is now the Pousada dos Lóios, houses one of the most impressive displays of 18th-century azulejos anywhere in Portugal. The sanctuary, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, was founded in the 15th century by the Venetian-based Lóios Order. Its interior walls are covered with azulejos created by Oliveira Bernardes, the foremost master of this unique Portuguese art form. The blue-and-white tiles depict scenes from the life of the church's founder, Rodrigo de Melo, who, along with members of his family, is buried here. Note the two metal hatches on either side of the main aisle: one covers an ancient cistern, which belonged to the Moorish castle that predated the church, and beneath the other hatch lie the neatly stacked bones of hundreds of monks. This ossuary was uncovered in 1958 during restoration work.

The Botanical Garden is on the grounds of an old plantation 3 km (2 miles) northeast of Funchal. It's home to more than 2,000 well-labeled plants—including anthuriums, bird-of-paradise flowers, and a large cactus collection—hailing from four continents. From the grounds, it is possible to savor wonderful views of Funchal and check out the petrified trunk of a 10-million-year-old heather tree. There's also a natural history museum and a small birds garden. You can get here on Bus 29, 30, 31, or 31A, or you can ride the cable car, departing from the small hilltop settlement of Monte.

Arguably Lisbon’s most romantic miradouro, this landscaped promenade is split into two levels, each offering a wonderful view across the city center to the castle on its hill on the other side. It’s a popular spot at night, as the moon shines over the city. On the upper level, a large kiosk surrounded by tables and lounge chairs serves refreshments and light meals to those who decide to stay and enjoy the views a little longer. Down the steps is another, more secluded kiosk with a smaller range of offerings.

Opposite the Templo Romano, this restful, tree-lined park looks out over the aqueduct and the plains from the modest heights of what is sometimes grandiosely referred to as "Évora's Acropolis." You can take in nearly 2,000 years of Portuguese history from here. One sweeping glance encompasses the temple, the spires of the Gothic Sé, the Igreja de São João Evangelista, and the 20th-century pousada housed in the convent. A garden café at the corner of the park is a great spot to reflect on the architectural marvels before you, with a glass of port in hand.

These 18th-century gardens are planted with rows of hedges cut in all sorts of bizarre shapes and contain an unusual assemblage of sculpture. Bordering one of the park's five small lakes are a path and stairway lined on both sides with granite statues of the apostles, the evangelists, and the kings of Portugal. The long-standing Portuguese disdain for the Spanish is graphically demonstrated here; the kings who ruled when Portugal was under Spanish domination are carved to a noticeably smaller scale than the "true" Portuguese rulers. Unfortunately, many statues were damaged by Napoléon's troops when the city was ransacked in 1807.

This 30-acre estate 5 km (3 miles) northeast of Funchal is a lovely spot to see the many colorful plants that bloom year-round in Madeira. Visitors will see hibiscus and bougainvillea most of the year, while jacaranda and bauhinias crop up seasonally. Owned by the wine-producing Blandy family, the manicured gardens make for a pleasant afternoon, and the teahouse here serves delicious homemade cakes and tarts. It's a steep drive—Nos. 36, 37, and 47 buses pass several times a day, and it's a popular stop on organized tours of the island.

For a close look at the wine business, visit the manor house and cellars of the José Maria da Fonseca Company. The intriguing tours cover the winery's long history and allow you to see all stages of production, including a peek into its dark and mysterious prized Moscatel cellars, where 100-plus-year-old bottles are still aging gracefully. End the tour with a choice of wine-tasting experiences. There's a JMF wine bar nearby too.

On steep sloped roads behind the Castelo de Belmonte, a cluster of old houses makes up the Judaria. Belmonte had (and still has) one of Portugal's largest Jewish communities. Many present-day residents are descendants of the Marranos: Jews forced to convert to Christianity during the Inquisition. For centuries, many kept their faith, pretending to be Christians while practicing their true religion behind closed doors. Such was their fear of repression that Belmonte's secret Jews didn't emerge fully until the end of the 1970s. A small museum situated within a former 18th-century Catholic church includes a permanent exhibition about the Jewish period.

About a 15-minute drive east of Madalena is the postcard-perfect town of Lajido, filled with charming all-black and black-and-white volcanic houses with striking red and green doors and shutters.

Four local street artists turned the dilapidated walls of this former factory into an outdoor art gallery of gorgeous black-and-white murals that depict local fishing traditions. In many cases, the artists worked from period photos, and some locals say they can recognize their parents in the scenes.

This family-friendly museum uses multimedia exhibits to bring Lisbon's history to life. Over the course of an hour, the story is broken down into chapters, with a focus on the country's golden age of maritime adventures. A multilingual audio guide takes visitors through a series of exhibits. Midway through, a small cinema shows a short but dramatic reenactment of the 1755 earthquake and the fiery aftermath.

Legend has it that one of J. K. Rowling’s chief inspirations for the fantasy world of Harry Potter was this century-old bookstore, often cited as the most beautiful bookshop in the world. Although Rowling hasn’t confirmed these rumors, an undeniable fairy-tale magic permeates this place, whether you’re marveling at its 60,000-plus books, painted-glass ceiling, fanciful facade, or crimson double-helix staircase. In recent years, the bookstore has become so overrun with tourists that queues snake down the street, and there’s now a €10 admission fee, which is redeemable against any purchase in the store.

A former industrial area that was transformed into a symbol of Lisbon's creative spirit, LxFactory is a colorful collection of cafés, bars, and boutiques. There's an excellent bookshop, Ler Devagar ("Read Slowly") with its own bar, plus a rooftop bar atop a hostel that serves cocktails to a young laid-back crowd. There's notable art to admire, too, and fans line up to snap pictures of the giant bee by Bordalo II, one of Lisbon's most celebrated street artists.

In the early 17th century, the head of the Order of Barefoot Carmelites, searching for a suitable location for a monastery, came upon an area of dense virgin forest. A site was selected halfway up the slope of the greenest hill, and by 1630 the simple stone structure was occupied. To preserve their world of isolation and silence, the monks built a wall enclosing the forest. Their only link with the outside was through a door facing toward Coimbra, which one of them watched over. The Coimbra Gate, still in use today, is the most decorative of the eight gates constructed since that time. Early in the 20th century, much of the original monastery was torn down to construct an opulent royal hunting lodge under the supervision of Italian architect Luigi Manini. Never used by the royal family, the multi-turreted extravaganza became a prosperous hotel—now the Palace Hotel do Bussaco—and in the years between the two world wars it was one of Europe's most fashionable vacation addresses. Today many come to Buçaco just to view this unusual structure, to stroll the shaded paths that wind through the forest, and to climb the hill past the Stations of the Cross to the Alta Cruz (High Cross), their efforts rewarded by a view that extends all the way to the sea. There's a small fee to enter with a car, but pedestrians and cyclists can stroll or cycle in for free.

With a prime location on the banks of the river in downtown Vila Nova de Gaia, Mercado Beira-Rio is a modern food hall that opened as part of the area’s riverside revitalization. It features numerous stands selling everything from pizza and steaks to wine and fresh fruit salads. There are terrace tables and communal seating indoors, ideal for sheltering from Porto’s infamous rain. 

Prince Henry the Navigator brought the first enslaved Africans to Portugal for his own use in 1441, initiating what would become a centuries-long system of exploitation. To manage the growing trade, he established a slave market in West Africa, and by 1455, around 800 enslaved people were being shipped to Portugal each year. The first African slave market in Europe was held beneath the arches of the old Casa da Alfândega in Lagos—a chilling landmark in European history. Today, the building houses a museum that touches on this legacy, but its displays remain unfortunately sparse. Visitors are advised to read widely beforehand to truly understand the gravity of what occurred here.