From Porto To Lisbon, Get To Know The Most Beautiful Portuguese Cities

Porto

Porto was voted Europe's Best City Break Destination in 2020, and the best European destination in 2017 for the third time in a row.

Porto is the second largest city in Portugal, the municipality has 41.42 km2 of area and has a population of 215 945 inhabitants within its administrative limits, being divided into seven parishes.

The metropolitan area currently comprises a geographical area composed of 17 contiguous municipalities, in an area of approximately 2,040 km2 with a resident population of around 1,700,000 inhabitants.

It is the city that gave its name to Portugal – designated by Portus Cale in 200 B.C., it later became the capital of The County of Portucalense, from where Portugal was formed and from which, later, the Portuguese Empire was built, since it was built, mostly, by people from the Northern Region.

Since 1996, its historic centre has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is also a city known worldwide for its wine and port wine cellars, its centuries-old bridges, its gastronomy, and the magnificent Douro River. The famous gastronomic specialties of the region are: Francesinha, Tripas à Moda do Porto and Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá.

The city of Porto also has several cultural spaces of reference such as the Serralves Museum, the House of Music, and the inescapable Lello Bookstore.

In 2001 it was considered European capital of culture and in 2012 elected as Best European Destination by the European Consumer Association.

Aveiro City

Known as the Venice of Portugal, Aveiro is surrounded by salt-flats, beaches and lagoons and dominated by the Central Canal running through town.

Coimbra University

Situated on a hill, overlooking the city, the University of Coimbra, with its schools, has grown and developed for more than 7 centuries within the ancient city.

Sanctuary of Fátima

Discover the charms of Fatima and let yourself be drawn into the spirituality of this place of worship and history.

In 2019 alone, 6.3 million people passed through Fatima.

You can see the admiration felt for the Sanctuary.

It is not by chance that this is known as The Altar of the World.

Relax, take it easy – as soon as you get there, you'll understand why.

Convent of Christ in Tomar

It was D. Gualdim Pais, founding grand master of the Order of the Templars in Portugal, had the castle built in 1160, to become the mother house of the Templars and inside the remarkable Convent of Christ. Template and altered over the centuries, retains influences of various architectural styles and is the ex-libris of the city, classified as world heritage by UNESCO.

Monastery of Batalha

The Dominican Monastery of Batalha, or Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitória was built to commemorate the victory of the Portuguese over the Castilians in the Battle of Aljubarrota (1385) and is the third most visited monument in Portugal.

Alcobaça Monastery

The Monastery of Alcobaça speaks of the foundation of the country, which separated from Castile in the 12th century and the abbey of Santa Maria de Alcobaça was founded in the 19th century. XIII by King Alfonso I.

Nazaré

Meet the Nazarenes and talk to them at the Dry Fish Market, where every day a dozen women continue to dry the fish in paneiros and where you can observe the colourful traditional boats exposed on the beach.

Peniche

Peniche and the sea are inseparable. It is one of the largest traditional fishing ports in Portugal and a major Atlantic hub for maritime-tourist activities.

Lisboa

Lisbon is a city that makes you want to discover, seeing what appears in each neighbourhood, in each street. It is a nice, safe town. With a lot to see, but relatively small. It is ideal to spend several days or a starting point to stroll around the country. It is old. It is modern. It is always surprising.

The municipality of Lisbon has an area of 85 km² and has a population of 547,733 inhabitants within its administrative limits, being divided into 24 parishes.

The metropolitan area currently comprises a geographical area composed of 18 contiguous municipalities, in an area of approximately 3,001 km2 with a resident population of around 2,863,272 habitants.

Lisbon is the capital and largest city in the country.