Up until a few years ago, Águeda wasn’t somewhere that you purposely stopped off at. As nice as the town is, there isn’t a lot to see and do in Águeda itself. Meanwhile Aveiro, which has the prestigious nickname of the “Venice of Portugal,” is just 35 km away and Coimbra, a definite must-visit destination in Portugal, is around Read more...

Aveiro is a small but very beautiful Portuguese city, and a place that I really recommend visiting. It’s conveniently located between Coimbra and Porto, so it’s easy to create a trip where you visit Lisbon, Coimbra, Aveiro, and Porto together.  Why visit Aveiro? It’s a small, but beautiful and well-maintained city – one of the most beautiful in Portugal.  The Read more...

Belmonte is a very small but very beautiful Portuguese village. While the real attraction is just wandering through the picturesque historical town, there are actually quite a lot of museums that you can visit in the town as well as the castle. Nearby, there are other beautiful towns worth visiting – such as Guarda (30 km) and Monsanto (53 km) Read more...

Castelo Branco isn’t a city that’s on the tourist trail, and there are two main reasons for that. Firstly, it’s a little out of the way. Although the drive from Lisbon only takes around 2.5 hours, it is the other side of the country from Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra, Aveiro, and all of the other popular places to visit.  Secondly, there Read more...

Over the past few years, Coimbra has become an incredibly popular destination to visit. Coimbra has a lot to offer, of course, and is an incredibly important city in Portugal, but a big reason for Coimbra’s popularity is its location: Coimbra is halfway between Lisbon and Porto. In fact, because it’s so popular, many people assume that it’s Portugal’s 3rd Read more...

Although Fátima is a small city that existed long before it became a spiritual destination, when most people think of Fátima they think of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima. The sanctuary attracts somewhere between 5 and 8 million visitors every year, most of whom are deeply religious but also many who are spiritual or just curious to see Read more...

In 1938, Monsanto was voted the “most Portuguese village in Portugal” – a strange title to give a village that looks like absolutely nowhere else in Portugal. But, aside from the unique fairytale-like houses built around giant boulders, the narrow streets and ramshackle buildings do have a very traditional Portuguese village feel to it. Monsanto actually feels like it was Read more...

The Berlengas archipelago is a small group of islands located roughly 10-15 km off the Portuguese coast, although many people use the word to refer to the main island: Berlenga Grande. The archipelago is a protected reserve, home to all kinds of creatures and foliage but especially seagulls and lizards, and tourists are only able to visit Berlenga Grande. Berlenga Read more...

Like many places in Portugal, Peniche began its life as a fishing village and fishing is still a big part of life here. In recent years, however, the Peniche has become more famous for something else: surfing. Peniche is one of Portugal’s top surfing destinations, for many people, it’s the best, although other destinations like Ericeira, Nazaré, Sagres, and Costa Read more...

In 2013, I spent a weekend in Lisbon. It was the second time that I’d visited Lisbon as an adult but this time I really fell in love with it – so much so that I ended up moving there.  Since then, I’ve spent a lot of time in Lisbon. I’ve lived in several parts of the city and I’ve Read more...