Epic views, eats and seaside adventures
Before growing into the world’s first
global empire, Portugal was home to the Cynetes, a Pre-Celtic tribe that
settled down in the Algarve region around the 6th century BC. Portugal’s
capital, however, is storied to be born under rather miraculous circumstances.
According to legend, it was the Greek Odysseus, avid wooden horse builder and travel
enthusiast, who casually founded Lisbon on his way back to Ithaca. No wonder
that in the 15th century it became the epicentre of Europe’s Age of
Exploration. Portugal’s legendary adventurism is only rivalled by its love of
life’s simple pleasures. Join Lisbonites as they flock to Baixa for a
late-night meal, theatre performance or a glass of their beloved Ginjinha (sour cherry liqueur). Get on
the water to appreciate the scenic beauty and world-famous produce of the Douro
Valley. Or claim your combo of bica
(coffee) and crunchy egg tarts at Pastéis de Belém and watch the waves break
from Lisbon’s harbour.
The art of living
Portugal doesn’t just love art. Portugal is art. Case in point: azulejos. Wherever you go, you’ll see
churches and monasteries, palaces and apartment buildings, park seats and
subway stations wrapped in delicate tin-glazed tiles. By the 18th century,
traditional Portuguese tilework became an art form in its own right and an integral
part of Portuguese identity. Besides local souvenir shops, find the biggest
collection of Iberophone tile art in Lisbon’s Museu Nacional do Azulejo. To get
acquainted with Portugal’s other favourite art form, you’d better look beyond
the azulejo-painted facades. Or listen, actually: Lisbon’s UNESCO-recognised
soundtrack, fado music, is played in
dozens of casas de fado across the
capital’s Alfama, Mouraria and Bairro Alto neighbourhoods. Don’t miss it.
Portugal’s ongoing love affair with art is also on display in its vibrant
contemporary art museums. Porto’s Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art is just
as striking on the inside as it is on the outside: the minimalist building
houses some 4,000 pieces of art from the 1960s to the present day.
Seafoodies, rejoice!
“The only way to get rid of a temptation is
to yield to it,” Oscar Wilde advises in The
Picture of Dorian Gray. Let his words guide you on your Portuguese culinary
explorations. Start your gastro adventure with the sandwich to end all
sandwiches: francesinha. Portugal’s
well-loved ‘little French lady’ is massive and certainly one to remember, made
of thick slices of bread, cured ham, linguiça sausage, steak meat, fried eggs,
heaps of cheddar cheese and tomato-beer gravy. Seafood is fresh, plentiful and
comes in all forms imaginable in Portugal. With little exaggeration: some say
that there are exactly 365 different ways to cook bacalhau, locals’ favourite dried and salted cod. Make sure to try
at least one at Lisbon’s Time Out Market. Our recommendation: bacalhau à brâs, as perfected by Chef
Miguel Castro e Silva. Sardines or sardinhas
assadas are another celebrated seafood dish in Portugal. Quite literally:
every June Lisboetas gather for the annual Santo António Festival, dedicated to
Lisbon’s patron saint and, you guessed it, sardines.
Everything is just
beachy
With over 1,700 kilometres of coastline,
Portugal has a beach for everyone, whether it’s crashing waves, jagged rocks,
yacht-studded marinas or hidden coves you’re after. Praia do Norte’s motto
would probably be ‘Go big or go home’ if it had one. Located in Nazaré, the
North Beach is Portugal’s big wave surfing Mecca. It was here where Brazilian
surfer Rodrigo Koxa made it into the Guinness Book of Records after riding a
24.4-metre monster of a wave in 2017. The Algarve’s Praia da Dona Ana is what
beach lovers’ dreams – and most of the Algarve’s postcards – are made of. It’s
much photographed and much loved by families, couples, groups of friends and
solo sun-seekers alike, thanks to its calm and crystal-clear aquamarine waters,
dramatic limestone cliffs and soft, deep gold sand. Planning a Lisbon weekend
getaway? You can still squeeze in some beachside R&R. Take a break from
sightseeing and Port sipping a short train ride away on Praia de Carcavelos,
one of the finest spots of the Lisbon-Estoril-Cascais coastline.
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