Portugal is hot right now. It’s sizzling, it’s steaming, it’s inflamed by the global spotlight. So popular is this pint-sized country that the World Travel and Tourism Council recently declared it to be on the brink of an historic year for travel and tourism.
Squeezed like an afterthought into western Iberia, Portugal was 2023’s fourth-most-searched global tourist destination on Google. No wonder: the world has finally realised that sublime weather, swoony beaches, historic villages and excellent cuisine aren’t the sole preserve of the only three nations to pip Portugal in Google’s most- searched list: Greece, Spain and Italy.
This apparently sudden upswing has been a long time in the making, though. Since launching its Tourism Strategy 2027 in 2016, the government has slowly consolidated Portugal’s appeal with investments in transportation, hospitality and cultural and human resources.
How can we enjoy the spoils, then, without turning this new hotspot into the hot mess so many other places have become? Good news: the government wants to turn Portugal into one of the world’s most sustainable tourism destinations with energy and water efficiency, year-round arrivals and visitations beyond the tourist traps.
Broadening the largesse isn’t difficult in such a compact territory, especially cruising the coastline visiting beautiful ports of call like Porto, Lisbon, Madeira and Azores, or cruising the Douro River, one of Europe’s oldest and most renowned wine regions. For cruisers looking to extend their stay, Portugal is easy also to navigate in a hire car – until you reach villages twisted with laneways and bereft of parking spaces, that is, which is where the Comboios de Portugal (the national railway) can help. While the rail network is sometimes circuitous and doesn’t extend to all outlying areas, it’s efficient, easy to use and allows for random meanderings.
Algarve
The Algarve is a beautiful region to visit, appreciated for its stunning beaches, limestone caves and picturesque towns. Often split into three sections – the eastern, central and western Algarve – the eastern Algarve is quieter than the central and western, and is also seen as more traditional, with flat terrain, warmer waters and a rich Moorish culture. Central Algarve is the most tourist orientated with bustling towns and famous beaches, and western Algarve is popular for its surf beaches and natural beauty.
My ramblings begin in Faro in the eastern Algarve. The old town is enclosed by Byzantine walls and crammed with timeworn dwellings; cobblestoned laneways lead me past buildings clad with antique azulejos – the glazed tiling characteristic of Portuguese architecture – and on to Parque Natural da Ria Formosa, a labyrinth of barrier islands, marshes, sandbars and lagoons stretching for 60km along the coastline. Ten minutes away by train is the historic fishing village of Olhão, where storks nest in bell towers and fishermen unload their catch at Mercado Municipal de Olhão. Their livelihood dominates the menu at Faro’s Restaurante Centenario where I sup that night on sardine paté, fish soup and monkfish cataplana (fish stew).
Lisbon
Three-and-a-half hours north, my train makes a dramatic entrance into Lisbon, Portugal’s capital, crossing the historic Ponte 25 de Abril. Soaring across the Tagus River, the bridge recalls the Carnation Revolution of 25 April 1974, when leader Antonio Salazar was toppled. The landmark is visible from a hilltop in Graça, which neighbours Lisbon’s oldest neighbourhood, Alfama. Reaching out to it is Cristo Rei, which can be reached by ferry from this side of the shore (buses complete the journey to the lofty statue); below me sprawls Castelo de São Jorge, whose fortifications date back to the 1st century BC. Lisbon is a glorious blend of historic charm and modern vibrancy and dining options are endless. My landlady in Alfama has advised me to dine in Graça – it’s less touristy, she says. Her pick? O Satelite, where I feast on grilled sardines, goat stew and a dulce de leche dessert called baba de camelo (appropriately, ‘camel drool’ in English).
Such indulgence necessitates physical activity. Instead of hopping onto Lisbon’s famous trams, I tread through neighbourhoods that slope towards the rivershore – and stop along the way for pastéis de nata (Portuguese tarts), sold fresh on every street corner. The history of those tiled façades is distilled at the unmissable Museu Nacional do Azulejo (National Tile Museum). The lyricism of the Fado Museum – a monument to Portugal’s music tradition – comes to life at Tasca do Chico in Bairro Alto, where aspiring Fado singers perform as I eat flaming sausage and sip ‘green wine’, the faintly fizzy Portuguese Vinho Verde specialty (arrive early for a seat).
Sintra
Nestled in the Sintra Mountains, the picturesque town of Sintra is home to several UNESCO World Heritage sites, romantic architecture and lush landscapes. I arrive at Sintra Station, an hour north of Lisbon, before the crowds. Tickets for Parques de Sintra’s historic attractions and the hop-on hop-off bus are sold online or at the station’s ticket office.
The bus loops through the thickets to the 10th-century Moorish Castle, draped like a backbone across the mountainside, and Pena Palace – Ferdinand II’s flamboyant summer bolthole. The queues here are epic, so I explore the palace’s perimeter and wander through fantastical gardens filled with swan houses, a monk’s grotto and a Moorish pavilion crowned with a lunar crescent.
Porto
Three-and-a-half hours north of Lisbon, Portugal’s second-largest city, Porto, squats above the Douro River. Nearby Sao Bento Train Station the ‘world’s most beautiful bookshop’, Livraria Lello, is anchored by a crimson staircase and roofed with stained glass. Or so I’ve heard. The heatwave has started: queues stretch around the block and visitors need a ticket (which can be used against a book purchase). So I walk to the 19th-century Palácio da Bolsa and peer across the river, wander the medieval laneways of Cais de Ribeira, and cross the Dom Luís I Bridge to Vila Nova de Gaia, where the city’s port wineries are located.
Douro
Wines are central to Porto’s history – the UNESCO World Heritage Alto Douro Wine Region lies around 100km inland. Cruising into this vine- contoured valley is recommended, but visitors can also shuttle alongside the river by train and stop along the way at Régua and Pinhão. In Vila Nova de Gaia, Vinum Restaurant and Wine Bar at Graham’s Port pairs Douro drops with unpretentious cuisine: salted cod soup, oxtail stew and ceviche. I finish with a glass of Graham’s 30-year-old tawny: a port ripened by this country’s heat long before oblivious tourists finally came to their senses.
